What If

Here's a thought provoking question....

What if every time we said or did something we first took a moment to think about how we would feel if someone else said or did that to us?

Personally, I think just by doing something simple like this would prevent so many issues down the road. To go even further, it might just solve a quarter of America's social issues right now.

People have a habit of "shooting first and asking questions later." I'm guilty of this too. Just recently, I accused a close friend of mine of something he didn't do. After I told him about my perception on the incident and he explained his actions, I realized I assumed by putting pieces together that didn't belong. I'm glad I didn't come on to hard on him and lead the discussion with, "What did my face tell you after you did such and such?" instead of leading with "I can't believe you did that! That was wrong!" It made such a difference on how I carried myself and how I calmly (this was hard) explained how I perceived the situation.

I see the wrong way to approach someone so often both on TV and real life. I tend to scream inwardly at the person and say "Let him explain!" Granted, there are times when giving someone the benefit of the doubt is the wrong thing to do especially if they have a proven track record of lying. But giving the other person a chance to say their piece shouldn't be taken away from them. Maybe they know they were wrong and want to say an apology. Maybe you missed something in their body language or words that would have prevented you from getting angry in the first place if you had caught it. Or maybe they are going through something hard personally and need a friend.

As a rule of thumb in my life, I don't yell and scream. I take the time to calm down and think about what I want/need to say. Sometimes, it takes a long time but if I force myself to gather the courage to say it, I will. Very often what needs to be said is hard to say.

So in conclusion, I hope this post helps you think about how you interact with friends, family and even perfect strangers.