Stoicism: The Only Plausible Response to “Receiving Instruction”

Even though you have to go to college to get an office job, sometimes receiving instruction on what to do for your job can feel like interpreting a foreign language without the benefit of Google Translate. While yes, you were bequeathed with a certain amount of knowledge, office work seems to be a lot about “common sense.” And it’s more than likely that you probably went to school for something creative if you’re working in an office, ergo you don’t know shit about “common sense.” Unless, of course, we’re referring to Thomas Paine’s treatise of the same name.

That’s why when “simple” direction like “making a spreadsheet” or “creating a business plan” is given, it can seem very foreign indeed. If these types of tasks are what common sense entails, I’m convinced it’s a skill strictly for mongos. Logic is too logical, if you will. The world is so much grayer than all of that. And the best reaction to convey neither cluelessness nor ire is stoicism. Then give the job to someone else, like how Sue Ellen does in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.