What gets attention?
Squeaky wheel? Deadline? Drama?
There's almost always someone screaming for something. The child. The customer. The pain-in-the-ass-soon-to-be-ex-friend. Do you let them hijack your week, your day, your moment?
The child is the exception here. You must take care of them, but there are times when the little one may just need to go cry it out.
Same with the nagging customer - that customer that just wants to be upset. They might just have to go cry it out.
The soon to be ex-friend. Well, that's hard. You might still be in that fog of delusion that happens in relationships - old and new, long and short.
Here's a tip: If anyone tries to drag you into their private hell (family, work, or just simple run-of-the-mill crazy), run - don't walk. Run fast and run hard.
I've only ever had to (chosen to) suffer other people's private hells for a span (though it has at moments seemed forever).
If you're stuck in a workplace situation with one of these people, I hurt for you. Find a new job? Change careers? I don't have an answer. Avoid the person if you can.
I'm rambling. Here's the point. I made the choice to allow people to hijack my focus. I allowed it. I could have - should have - acknowledged the crazy and moved on with my day.
Sometimes you just have to gather up your big boy/girl pants and shed the cloak of giving a shit.
If someone is doing everything in their power to make your day shit. You do not have to feign niceties. Be professional. Do the work that you must. Do it well. Ignore the other person's shit-making. Find peace with you. Ignore the other person's shit-making.
I have a hard time with this. I generally want to like people. I generally want them to like me.
The older I get, the less fucks I give.
The older I get the less patience I have for the shit-makers, blessed they are not.