Tag: Others

CategoriesActionObserveThink About It

What We Say About Others

Posted on May 14, 2024

We tell people what is important for us about the other person. We do not describe the other person in an unbiased way. We describe them based on our bias and what we want to convey.

So when news reports come out, be sceptical about why the reporter is using those words and in that order. What picture are they painting and why?

When a friend describes another friend, where are they positioning them in your mind?

If you liked Margaret Thatcher, you might describe her as a strong woman, the Iron Lady, who rose from humble beginnings, with a common background, to the halls of power. If you were less of a fan you might just say she was anti-union and destroyed coal mining in the UK.

Both are descriptions that people could use about the same person. So we don’t simply describe the other person, we describe the characteristics that we want to highlight about the other person. So why did we choose those specific highlights?

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CategoriesActionGratitudeObserveTime

Impact On Others

Posted on March 8, 2022

You may not ever know how much you have impacted other people’s lives. But if you ever find out, it can be an incredibly overpowering feeling.

Imagine that your comment inspired a child to study medicine and find a treatment for a disease. Or perhaps, given your confidence during a fire drill, a teenager decided to dedicate their life to firefighting and saving lives.

Or your kindness in a tense situation made other people aware it was possible and they multiplied this treatment of others, forward, for decades.

Usually we don’t get to see the depth of our wake. But in those rare moments when we are shown, or we have the good fortune to catch a glimpse, it can make the world seem so valuable and our lives worthwhile.

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CategoriesGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughts

The Work Of Others

Posted on May 15, 2021

Look around you. Everything in your home, office or neighbourhood was the thought or effort of someone else. The work of others surrounds us.

Look around your living room. Perhaps you have a sofa, rug, fireplace, TV, chair, ceiling, light fixture and many other things. You may see several books, pictures in frames, tissue boxes or potted plants. All of these things were thought up by one person or a group of people. Then some people did the manufacturing of it.

It is amazing. All of those people you never met, but whose creative handiwork surrounds you. Then there are the things you can’t really see like electrical wires, plumbing and WiFi.

Out in the streets you have roads, sidewalks, pavement, cars, trucks, sewers, bridges, trains, traffic lights, buildings and buses. People imagined life with these things and there they are! Isn’t it a wonder? It is amazing beyond belief.

Someone conceived the idea. Another person organised it into existence. And you get the benefit of it. Things were dug out of the ground for you. Or they were chopped down. Either way, they are in your world and you get the benefit of their beauty or utility.

Be grateful and appreciate the miracle and wonder that is our modern world.

The work of others is mostly a blessing. Treat it that way.

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