Many things were learned in Week 4. It’s very helpful to analyze what’s going on around you rather than just letting the days fly by in anticipation of graduating. The most important lesson I gained this week was how to handle irritations originating from co-workers. Or in this case, fellow recruits.
Without going into detail, I’ve had some minor confrontations with squadmates about trivial issues. I discovered that regardless of how minor or trivial the circumstances were, I still found myself frustrated, angry, and even resentful about what was going on. After thinking about it for a bit, I asked myself, “Seriously? You’re already getting upset about this crap when an entire career of working with people like this awaits you?” Now is the time to learn how to effectively deal with annoying coworkers, not how to get my panties in a bundle over nothing.
A couple nights ago I finished reading David Simon’s Homicide. A truly amazing book, one which I would consider a must-read for serious law enforcement enthusiasts. One passage of the book really spoke to me regarding the above circumstances. One of the players in the book, Balitmore Police Detective Donald Kincaid, gets extremely frustrated about the conduct of one of the other detectives and it eventually leads to his early retirement. Here’s what Simon had to say about it:
For a detective or street police, the only real satisfaction is the work itself; when a cop spends more and more time getting aggravated with the details, he’s finished. The attitude of co-workers, the indifference of superiors, the poor quality of the equipment–all of it pales if you love the job; all of it matters if you don’t.
Posted by Excessive Use 
