Sunday Setup
A weekly newsletter to help get your mind set up for a positive workweek.
03.16.2025 — Beware the Eyes of March
Botox Boutade
If you find yourself in the UK's leading comedy club this March, you might notice that the headliners won't leave you in stitches if you use needles to remove laugh lines. That's because the club has issued a ban on audience members who fill their faces with Botox.
While this may sound like the setup for an awesome practical joke — "We've secretly injected the audience's faces with nerve-blocking poison. Let's see if the comedians notice!" — it's as real as a Pokemon-shaped Cheeto that recently fetched $87,000 at an auction.
According to Mark Rothman, the owner of the Top Secret Comedy Club, an "expression check" will be required to gain entry into the club to ensure the audience can actually move their faces. Apparently several comedians have complained about their inability to gauge audience engagement amongst a crowd of reactionless faces. Who knew you could heckle a comic with a blank stare?
Cancel culture recently flew across the pond and now the Brits can't catch a break. First Brexit blew up their currency, then a Black woman broke up the royal family, and now comedy clubs prohibit poisonous faces. If bad teeth and poor hygiene had been canceled instead, we'd need extremely inebriated football fans to speak in iambic pentameter to identify British Blokes.
That might just be a nightmare, fun to see.
Relax, Relate, Release
It's 2:30 PM the day before you're scheduled to pitch that large client you need to land to make the quarterly numbers for your department. You've been on back-to-back Zoom calls since 8:30 AM, so your mind is fried as you hop on the last 90-minute call of the day, but you're optimistic because although you know it's not quite ready for prime time, you feel your pitch deck is close.
Then during the meeting Taylor, your manager, drops a crushing blow to your confidence with a typical, last-minute, negative verbal response to your "Please Provide Feedback by Noon Today" email, which you sent the day before. Making matters worse, this heavy dose of harsh criticism is not only delivered in front of the entire team, it also includes a litany of "suggested" changes that will require an all-nighter to implement. Cue the psychological Karate Kid crane stance as you prepare to vehemently defend your work.
There's a space between stimulus (what happens to you) and response (how you handle what happens to you) in every aspect of life. Whenever you encounter criticism, stress, or conflict at work, being mindful of that space — in the moment — can be the difference between a reputation-damaging emotional reaction and an intentionally thoughtful response.
When triggered, take a moment to pause and breathe before you respond verbally or fire off an email. Try to label the emotion you feel (frustration, overwhelm, irritation) to activate the rational part of your brain and regain composure before you respond.
Consider the outcome of your response by asking questions like:
What's the goal?
How might my response impact this relationship?
Then, seek to reframe the situation to reduce the emotional intensity. It's not a matter of winning or losing, but more of staying focused on delivering the best possible outcome for the intended audience of the work you do. Instead of assuming negative intent of the person who set your emotions on fire ("Taylor's always trying to make me look bad."), assume positive intent ("Taylor wants to ensure we truly connect with this prospective client by clearly demonstrating we understand and can address their pain points.").
When you're ready to respond, try to keep your tone calm and measured. While it might be tempting to "fight fire with fire," consider a more thoughtful response like, "Thank you for your feedback, Taylor. Can we connect offline to discuss further clarification?" That may be easier said than done, especially if you have "history" with Taylor, but you may be surprised by the response to your response.
If you can master the art of mindfully responding instead of emotionally reacting to challenges at work, you might not only develop stronger professional relationships, you may also strengthen your resilience while lowering your stress. And who couldn't use less stress in life?
Relax, Relate, Release!