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NoSelfEsteemIssues
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18 Nov 2013, 12:41 pm

This may sound stupid, but i hate it when i say 'good morning' or 'goodbye' at work and get no response, or everyone responds except for 1 guy (in a group of 6 people).
How do i deal with this?



OliveOilMom
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18 Nov 2013, 12:49 pm

Stop saying it every day. It gets to be old pretty quickly when the same people say the same thing every day. Remember when teachers did that in school? You can only say "Good morning Mr Hand" so many times before you get resentful. Also, in the work place sometimes people are caught up in their own thoughts and work and don't want to take the time to respond to things like that. Maybe do it only once a week or something, and not on the same day or something predictable.



NoSelfEsteemIssues
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18 Nov 2013, 12:53 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:
Stop saying it every day. It gets to be old pretty quickly when the same people say the same thing every day. Remember when teachers did that in school? You can only say "Good morning Mr Hand" so many times before you get resentful. Also, in the work place sometimes people are caught up in their own thoughts and work and don't want to take the time to respond to things like that. Maybe do it only once a week or something, and not on the same day or something predictable.


Would it be accepteble if i said it everyday once to the entire group and not always individualy to each person? It feels odd or even rude not to say goodbye at the end of the day?
Why does it bother me so much that i need to say goodmorning and goodevening everyday or otherwise i feel bad?



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18 Nov 2013, 3:02 pm

You were probably taught as a child that it's polite to. Say it if you need to sometimes but not all the time. Also, realize that it doesn't require a response. You are greeting them, they don't have to greet you back to have been greeted. Just like when people leave, you don't always have to say "Bye" right back. Keep it casual "Morning ya'll" as you walk in and sit down, and get to your work without looking around waiting for them to answer back. When you leave say something casual to the group like "Later" or "I'm out" and go. They may or may not answer. It's not something that always gets responded to in a work setting or in many group settings. If you are around a bunch of people who normally don't respond to stuff like that, they won't. Or they may respond but feel weird about it happening every day.



NoSelfEsteemIssues
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18 Nov 2013, 3:24 pm

This is mind opening, i'm not sure if i cared about this at just this job or at every job. I just taught that when your greeting someone you needed to reply.
I'm just wondering if the guy is playing a game with me, because when he says goodmorning he expects a reply back from everyone (also the nt personal) i feel. Also he says goodbye to the group when he leaves every single time. I hope that starting tomorrow i will follow your advice, even tho i feel that greeting someone is becoming compulsive with me

ps. I just had an epiphany, i work at a school and i greet alot of people, i think this is my compulsion



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18 Nov 2013, 8:59 pm

NoSelfEsteemIssues wrote:
This is mind opening, i'm not sure if i cared about this at just this job or at every job. I just taught that when your greeting someone you needed to reply.
I'm just wondering if the guy is playing a game with me, because when he says goodmorning he expects a reply back from everyone (also the nt personal) i feel. Also he says goodbye to the group when he leaves every single time. I hope that starting tomorrow i will follow your advice, even tho i feel that greeting someone is becoming compulsive with me

ps. I just had an epiphany, i work at a school and i greet alot of people, i think this is my compulsion


It's probably just an ingrained habit that doesn't feel right if it's not done the way you are used to it. That can feel like a compulsion to us sometimes, even though it's not. It takes less time and effort to adjust to changing a habit than it does a compulsion, although both take longer with us than they do NT's.

Just don't answer if you don't want to, or start answering with a different answer every day. Plan them out that morning so you have them and are ready with them. He says "Good morning" and you can say "Sup?" or "Yes,it is" or even "And a very fine top o the morning to you there!" Just anything other than your usual. If he gets smarmy about it then it's just his thing, so let him have it or be prepared for a big, long, tension filled office battle over nothing at all important.

Remind yourself in the morning not to do it. Put a sticky note somewhere at home that you can see it before you go. Put one in your car or take it with you on the bus or train and carry it in your hand so you'll remember when you come in to not do it. If you get sidetracked and fall back into the same habit, no big deal, but try to remember another day. If you remember in the morning but forget that afternoon, no biggie. This isn't important so it shouldn't stress you out. Don't let yourself get stressed over trying to change this in yourself. Just give it the importance you think it deserves and understand that sometimes you'll say it out of habit.



NoSelfEsteemIssues
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19 Nov 2013, 12:35 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:
NoSelfEsteemIssues wrote:
This is mind opening, i'm not sure if i cared about this at just this job or at every job. I just taught that when your greeting someone you needed to reply.
I'm just wondering if the guy is playing a game with me, because when he says goodmorning he expects a reply back from everyone (also the nt personal) i feel. Also he says goodbye to the group when he leaves every single time. I hope that starting tomorrow i will follow your advice, even tho i feel that greeting someone is becoming compulsive with me

ps. I just had an epiphany, i work at a school and i greet alot of people, i think this is my compulsion


It's probably just an ingrained habit that doesn't feel right if it's not done the way you are used to it. That can feel like a compulsion to us sometimes, even though it's not. It takes less time and effort to adjust to changing a habit than it does a compulsion, although both take longer with us than they do NT's.

Just don't answer if you don't want to, or start answering with a different answer every day. Plan them out that morning so you have them and are ready with them. He says "Good morning" and you can say "Sup?" or "Yes,it is" or even "And a very fine top o the morning to you there!" Just anything other than your usual. If he gets smarmy about it then it's just his thing, so let him have it or be prepared for a big, long, tension filled office battle over nothing at all important.

Remind yourself in the morning not to do it. Put a sticky note somewhere at home that you can see it before you go. Put one in your car or take it with you on the bus or train and carry it in your hand so you'll remember when you come in to not do it. If you get sidetracked and fall back into the same habit, no big deal, but try to remember another day. If you remember in the morning but forget that afternoon, no biggie. This isn't important so it shouldn't stress you out. Don't let yourself get stressed over trying to change this in yourself. Just give it the importance you think it deserves and understand that sometimes you'll say it out of habit.


Thanks, this really helped me.
On the side note, i tried it today and it felt good however people who know me think its weird (i think) that i changed a little.