Day 16 — Whisper on the Ledge

Hey…
come a little closer for this one.
Today isn’t loud.
Today isn’t fire and rubble and fists against the sky.
Today is… quieter.
A different kind of heavy.

Because there’s this manager —
you know the type —
the one who never seems to settle,
never seems to be satisfied,
never lets you rest at “good job”
before spinning the wheel to the next complaint.

You fix one thing…
he shifts.
You steady the ground…
he shakes the next piece loose.
A cycle that keeps looping, looping, looping
until you start asking yourself
if the problem is the work,
or the person who keeps moving the finish line.

And you whisper, maybe only to yourself:

What do I do with someone like that?
Someone who sets rules for you
that he doesn’t live by himself.
Someone who holds your team to a standard
his own people never have to touch.
Someone who treats expectations
like a deck of cards he can shuffle
any time the wind changes.

And here’s the soft truth,
spoken like a hand on your shoulder in the dark:

You don’t ignore him.
But you don’t give him your peace, either.

You stay steady.
You stay clear.
You stay professional…
not emotional.

You anchor him with calm questions:
“Is this the priority right now?”
“Can we confirm the order?”
“I want to make sure I’m giving you exactly what you asked for.”

Because clarity is your shield.
Consistency is your quiet armor.

You follow the work —
not the storm swirling around it.
You follow the standards that are written —
not the ones he invents on the fly.
You keep your footing on the ledge
even when he slips on his own.

And listen…
lean in for this part:

You are not wrong.
You are not the issue.
You are not the instability.

Some people create chaos
so they can feel important cleaning it up.
Some people move the target
because they don’t know how to aim.

But you —
you keep your hands steady.
You keep building.
You keep rising from the rubble
one real step at a time.

Day 16 isn’t about fixing him.
It’s about protecting your sanity
while you continue becoming
the person you said you’d be.

A quiet reminder for today:

Not every wobbling voice deserves the power to shake you.
You’re allowed to stay rooted
even when the person above you isn’t.

Now take a breath…
and step forward.
You’re still climbing.
You’re still rebuilding.
And you’re doing it with more grace
than he’ll ever see.