Are you ever "political" when asked, "How was it?"?

Like at work, I have a vested interest in the success of some projects, so when someone asks how it went, I always say it was great, no matter what I really think.

Do you see this question as a political question? Like when walking down the hall, and you see someone you haven’t seen in a while and ask how they are. They stand up straight, put a smile on their face, and say, “Great!” We want to show how strong and powerful and ok we are. Don’t we?

It’s not just ok to be fine these days. Nowadays we have to market ourselves wherever we go at work. It’s about budgets and success and the perception of greatness.

It took me a long time to learn this and sometimes, when people catch me unawares, I might admit to an unpolitic truth. I might admit that today I had a lot of free time, instead of saying, “Busy. Busy.” Everyone needs to be busy. You never want to admit they’re paying you to sit there and twiddle your thumbs. They might just fire you.

All right. I didn’t mean to ramble like this. No. I did. I did it on purpose to show you how thoughtful I am. See? Always the game. Always perception. Managing perceptions.

So are you political about these things? Are you aware that you are managing perceptions all the time? When did you figure this out? What made you figure it out?

Or are you still in that phase of life where you wonder why can’t people tell the truth? Why don’t people admit to being bad when they are feeling bad? I mean, if they have the flu, they should say it, right?

Sure.