Right now I work in a health food store. This primarily consists of me being in the kitchen, but one day a week I’m scheduled up front at the register.

It’s a small, locally owned grocery store with a register that needs a lot done by hand as opposed to scanning. Frequently looking at lists, weighing items, and typing numbers in. It can require a lot of multitasking. My day looks like answering the phone in the middle of transactions, back and forth when checking in orders, and answering customer questions.

I’m usually confident in managing it. But today I was feeling all over the place in my morning. I was hungry, tired, overly caffeinated, and there was a lot happening.

I did get through the morning rush, thankfully. And after I had a moment to breathe, I noticed a staggering difference in how people were perceiving and treating me. The customers I served in the beginning of my day respected me less, and weren’t as friendly, patient, or conversational.

I was not out of step this morning, but it made me think more about how plugging in a specific social input impacts the social frequencies you receive in return.

In times of influence, being visibly overwhelmed signifies weakness. And in times of social overwhelm, when I get nervous, a negative quality that I often have to watch out for is settling into outward forms of meekness.

People react differently to you depending on the emotional energy that you are bringing into their space.