Love ‘em or hate ‘em? I’ve still not quite decided. There is the one or other thing from every seminar I take home with me that’s actually of use. But I just hate those mind games – ‘psycho games’ I lovingly call them – like improvisation stuff or making a fool of yourself by having to describe a word without using words, just using your hands and bodies. I don’t care for party or parlour games. Never really have. They annoy me no end and I barely can keep my eyes from rolling … so, I usually grudgingly take part in those “team building psycho games” and tell myself that all will be over in a couple of hours. Until the next lecture relaxation game comes along. All in all, it’s just a way to psychoanalyze everyone. And I hate that. I’m a straightforward kind of girl. I usually say what I mean and I can’t abide people talking about something for half an hour which would probably take no more than 5 minutes. Blabbing on … what a waste of my time! Huh … straying from the topic again. Which is seminars! And which I don’t really like. (There, I’ve said it!)
What else annoys me? The socializing! The small talk. The boasting about the job, private life, everything … I try to act being interested, without revealing much about myself. Of course, due to my accent they realize I’m not German, so that’s one topic to talk about. But apart from that? I remain aloof and listen more than I talk. Escaping to my room as soon as decently possible without being a bore or “antisocial”. Happy to have survived another day …
You are asking, and correctly so, why I even take part in those seminars then? Well, what can I say? To satisfy the company and have one more certificate to present. To show that I’m willing to evolve and improve … (eye roll again). But, as I said, I usually take home something useful from each seminar. Maybe 10% is actually worth listening too. Boy, I guess, I’m quite ungrateful. After all, my company is investing quite a lot in us by offering those seminars … And this is another issue Covid is to be thanked for. Apart from being allowed to do home office – which otherwise I would never have been able to do without a kid or someone to care for – seminars were not on the schedule. Just me, happily doing my job, in peace, concentration and quiet. Without the thought of having to go to the seminar location a few hours away to suffer from “psycho games”. And no, I don’t want to move up the ladder just to be more stressed (yeah, and paid more, but at what personal price?) and work 10 hour days. I like my job, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and not drop dead at 60 with a stress-induced heart attack!
ABOUT EVERYTHING AND NOTHING 
It often happens that in seminars some topics are not of much interest or, if they are interesting, they are treated in a boring or repetitive way.
However I think that, as you say, there is always something new to learn
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I had a little chuckle reading this post. For my mind, as long as I take away one item of interest or catch up with other colleagues, then the seminar has been a success.
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I am sure I was considered a pain by seminar organizers who undoubtedly recognized me as a passive-aggressive resister. I usually gained something from the experience but far less than I could have. My loss.
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Goodness, you are sooooo right about that. I’ve heard stories of people, small business owners and immigrants of course, dropping dead at a very young age of 60, all because they work sooooo hard and eat junk food and drink hard liquor at night. They have heart attacks. Or they fall asleep behind the wheel. Or family conflicts which caused sudden arrival of health issues.
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