Managing work and family is a challenge, and it’s really hard to do it well. It takes a high level of emotional intelligence and a truly positive attitude to leave your troubles at the door when you get home in the evening. Most human beings aren’t capable of just letting everything go and compartmentalizing their two different worlds. The fact is, for most of us, if we have a hard day at work, it’s going to affect how we interact with the people we love at home. That’s just natural, no matter how hard we try to manage it. There are different techniques you can try to use to help with this struggle, but sometimes it doesn’t take a high-level solution to solve this kind of problem. The man in the fictional story below is the perfect example of that. Enjoy this story.
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.
On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied.” I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”
He paused. “Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there ain’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”
