Learning From Teflon
December 5, 2007
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*This is a guest post by J Blu of Fresh Geeks (RSS Feed) Teflon is a non-stick coating developed by DuPont. It is commonly used to coat pans and other cookware. So, what can we learn from non-stick cookware?
Non-constructive Negativity
To go along with Rod’s post on responding to negative comments, there’s also another type of negative comment that doesn’t deserve a response - The negative nonsensical comment (NNC). These comments come in the form of harsh remarks with no explanation or reason whatsoever ie ‘you suck!’ or ‘you’re worthless!’. These types of comments are what will be made reference to in this post.
Non-Stick Cookware
I tried making pancakes in a three-year-old pan that was once coated with teflon a few months back. The teflon has worn off as the pan has aged. That makes cooking food such as pancakes and over-easy eggs difficult. Cleaning it is an even bigger pain.
Well, I purchased a new pan with a non-stick coating since then, and it makes the job of cooking a lot easier. When the pan is tipped over after cooking, the food slides out of the pan with ease. Also, I no longer have to put forth that much effort to scrape the leftover traces of scraps from the pan bottom during washing.
Make Like Teflon & Let it Slide
When it comes to NNC, we would do well to disregard them…just make like teflon and let it slide. Why? For three simple reasons:
1. Your Time & Peace of Mind is Valuable
The purpose of these thoughtless remarks is to offend and make the accused feel bad. Because there was no explanation (ie “you suck because…”) to the negative remark, they hold no weight. Unlike your time and peace of mind, they have no value.
2. Focusing On Tasks is Important
Dwelling on those kinds of remarks can affect your focus on your tasks at hand as an [blog] author.
Going back to my analogy about teflon, I mentioned before that cleaning my older pan with the worn off non-stick coating required more work, as the junk leftover food stuck to it like crazy. The new pan required less work when cleaning because the junk just slid right off.
Well, when we let the ‘junk’ get stuck to us, it makes work harder because your focus may go to the ‘junk’ instead of your tasks. Letting those ‘junk’ NNCs slide allows you to be more efficient and, to go along with point number 1, saves you time and peace of mind.
3. You Are NOT the Jerk
The person leaving the NNC will come off looking like a jerk, not you. It is very likely that another reader will comment in your defense as the NNC is unjustified. It is human nature to defend those that are wronged, and what applies in normal life applies also within the blogosphere. Most bloggers are always willing to support a fellow blogger.
We all crave attention for our sites and, when we receive it, it isn’t always going to be positive. Dwelling on NNCs will make it harder for us to progress thus making it harder for our site to grow. So, just make like teflon and let it slide.
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December 5th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Thanks for the post Rod! I don’t know, but for some reason, my analogies are always associated with food.
jblu’s last blog post..Meeting Other Bloggers to Promote Your Blog
December 5th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
You’re very welcome, J. And thank you for the post as well. Maybe we should look at doing this again in the future.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Great, that’s a definite possibility. I’ll keep in touch.
jblu’s last blog post..Meeting Other Bloggers to Promote Your Blog