A little girl was leaning over the counter of a cafe. Being the cashier on the other end I saw her peering at me and offered her a piece of scone to which she replied with a shrieking "no!" — a response that sounded like I was giving her a hard time or rather giving her time-out for whatever reason.
Behavior. If we can change our attitude about our life situations we'd probably have better success at what we did. We would probably have more opportunities if we were more accepting whether it's in the form of an opportunity or offered help. Choosing how we react to others takes so much discipline and effort sometimes. We tend to forget that we're liable to our actions and reactions.
Reflecting on something that happened during my student days, I remember constantly having an inner battle with myself of whether I should just lash out and yell at my classmate or just shut up and pray that the program would end faster. I was fed up but I internalized it, or most of it. I'm pretty sure my classmate could read my agitated facial expressions and negative body language that I was displaying. I think I could have done things better now that I look back. I don't mean I could have been nicer. Being nice has nothing to do with it. I can be nice through gritted teeth and still not be able to successfully communicate what that person needed to know. That person needed to know that I'm not responsible for him/her. That person needed to know that I did not appreciate their behavior and how I was being treated.
Now, if only I could practice this diligently and use that inner voice more often without being so emotionally fired up when I communicate my dissatisfactions...
Sometimes it's so easy to just shriek at someone instead but where would that lead me?
Behavior. If we can change our attitude about our life situations we'd probably have better success at what we did. We would probably have more opportunities if we were more accepting whether it's in the form of an opportunity or offered help. Choosing how we react to others takes so much discipline and effort sometimes. We tend to forget that we're liable to our actions and reactions.
Reflecting on something that happened during my student days, I remember constantly having an inner battle with myself of whether I should just lash out and yell at my classmate or just shut up and pray that the program would end faster. I was fed up but I internalized it, or most of it. I'm pretty sure my classmate could read my agitated facial expressions and negative body language that I was displaying. I think I could have done things better now that I look back. I don't mean I could have been nicer. Being nice has nothing to do with it. I can be nice through gritted teeth and still not be able to successfully communicate what that person needed to know. That person needed to know that I'm not responsible for him/her. That person needed to know that I did not appreciate their behavior and how I was being treated.
Now, if only I could practice this diligently and use that inner voice more often without being so emotionally fired up when I communicate my dissatisfactions...
Sometimes it's so easy to just shriek at someone instead but where would that lead me?
Nowhere, which you already know. Communicating and understanding can be difficult even when we're not agitated. It's important to step back and consider what messages our words and actions actually convey to the other person...and what we can do to ensure our intended message is the one we're sending.
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