Medium.com/thrive-global; Ashley Wells, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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| Here. Happy birthday. I got you sparklers instead of candles (Allef Vinicius/Unsplash) |
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| I have to stop living in a cave. Seriously. |
One sentence reveals the secret to connecting with other people.
“When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble:…and you will be right more than half the time.”
—Henry Eyring
Every person you meet, no matter how happy they appear on the outside, is dealing with serious challenges in their life.
Life is freaking hard.
Some of the people you meet are going through bitter and bone-chilling challenges. And for the most part, you have no clue. You just pass them at work, in the grocery store, or even at family gatherings.
In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey tells the story of being on a train one day.
While on the train there were two very noisy kids causing a disturbance to everyone around them.
Covey noticed that the father was doing nothing about it. So after a period of restraint he approached the father [and said]:
While on the train there were two very noisy kids causing a disturbance to everyone around them.
Covey noticed that the father was doing nothing about it. So after a period of restraint he approached the father [and said]:
“Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”
The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly,
“Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”
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| I don't care what people think of me or Dad. |
My paradigm shifted: Suddenly I saw things differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished.
I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely.
Everything changed in an instant.
Living More Compassionately
If you treat every person you meet like they are dealing with a serious challenge, you’ll be right more than half the time. If you entreat people with love, kindness, empathy, and discernment, they will appreciate you so much. More
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