There are certain situations that you find yourself in where you feel like you don’t belong. Sometimes it is a new place or a new situation. Sometimes it is a place or an environment that you have been in a hundred times before but it has changed somehow. Maybe it’s a dark alley, maybe it’s a party, maybe it’s a job that you used to love but something is different now. Regardless of what it is the feeling is the same. It’s the same feeling you get (men) when you accidentally walk into the ladies room. You have that very distinct impression that something is at least a little different here, some things may even look familiar, but the impression is loud and clear, “YOU DON”T BELONG HERE!” In this specific situation we all know what to do – leave as quickly as possible. We have the same feelings in a lot of situations but we are not always as clear on what to do. We might even think if we stick around in “the ladies room” just a little longer, maybe we won’t feel so out of place, but no matter how long you stick it out in the “ladies room” (men) you are never going to belong. Sometimes it takes people years to figure this out. So the next time you have this feeling, whether it’s at work or at a social gathering, tell yourself, “I’m in the ladies’ room” and then do what we all know we need to do – LEAVE.
[I think you’ll find the point still applies if you swap the gender references around.]
