Rub Some Dirt on It and Get Back in the Game
A high school football coach viewed being hurt and being injured as the two categories for handling medical issues on the field. If a person was hurt, the person continued to play. If the person was injured, the player left the field to receive first aid and if necessary medical treatment.
The coach had an expression for those hurts that neither broke the skin nor required further medical evaluation. He would tell the players to, “Rub some dirt on it.”
To me, the coach was taking the players’ mind off the little pains in sports and letting the players get mentally back into the game.
Hurt feelings in the work place can be like be pains in sports. Somebody may say something or behave in a way that hurts my feelings. What the person said or does is not justification for a grievance.
If I get angry and raise the issue to a higher level by saying or doing something to hurt the person’s feelings in return, invariably I make matters worse.
On those occasions when I am hurt and not injured, I can make the situation better if I let the matter pass. Rather than remain angry and throw dirt at the person, I can just reach down in my mind where I feel the pain and “rub some dirt on it.”
