“Alexa, play ‘relaxation playlist’.”

Felicity handed her bag to her waiting helper as she accepted a proffered pot of tea and stepped into the next room, allowing the soothing music to quiet her mind as she settled into the private sanctuary of her study that she allowed no one else into. Pouring herself a cup of herbal tea, warm and spicy notes wafted into the darkening space as the last fingers of light drew out through the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave her an unobstructed view of the brooding ocean beyond.

This daily decompression in dusk and solitude was Felicity’s favourite post-office ritual, and she wouldn’t even turn on the lights until after she’d eaten and was ready to continue working into the night. But tonight, Felicity eased into the stillness much easier than normal, without as much tension to let go of. Her meeting with Paul, the CFO visiting from her company’s HQ, had been successful. And it was because of, not despite, the interventions of her hapless new assistant Olivia, a graduate of her company’s internship programme.

Felicity had been assigned Olivia by the organisation’s training and recruitment division, and had instantly disliked the terribly anxious girl whose inexperience was written into all her many shortcomings. Felicity was loathe to trust the girl with any task and would have fired her instantly had she the authority to do so. But, following a track record of increasingly high turnover of her assistants, the HR department had intervened to ensure Felicity took her training and mentorship duties seriously.

Felicity let out a sigh as she thought back on all the ways Olivia had frustrated and angered her in the last few months. But here, alone and without witness, in the privacy of her own thoughts, Felicity had to admit to herself that she had been an angry person long before Olivia, and that maybe, just maybe, she had been rather unfair on her.

It wasn’t easy for Felicity to admit fault, even just to herself. She took great pride in her career, and held herself and others to vaulting standards. She accepted no incompetence, and was quick to voice her displeasures. No one could argue against the results Felicity was consistently able to deliver, but she was certainly far from being the company’s most popular manager, and even her peers often walked on eggshells around her when the familiar narrowing of her eyes caught them in disapproval.

But the interventions of the HR department, coupled with a recent health issue and warnings from her doctor to urgently address her stress, had forced Felicity to evaluate her emotional habits. And, as she sipped on the calming tea used for its stress-relieving properties, Felicity accepted her suspicions that the ascendancy of her career had plateaued in the last few years due in part to her perceived un-likability.

Of course, the realisation that the perception of others could affect her career had initially angered her even more. But, she had committed herself to using that fire as a catharsis to grow stronger and smarter. After all, when she really stopped to think about it, she really was more angry at herself for allowing her anger to become who she was.

And so had begun her little rituals for herself, her inner journey to create resilient habits at work, and her attempts - if imperfect - to exercise greater patience, even with Olivia. Felicity knew she would never surrender her capacity for anger, but she wanted the inner strength to healthily control it, and to accept that everyone was as perfectly imperfect as she was.

Food for thought: How can taking responsibility for your own flaws allow you to start healing yourself?