What is their reason?
As we go through our days, we will come across people that seem problematic to us. Perhaps they’re problematic to others as well, but it’s also likely that we come across as problematic to people that encounter us.
As French film director Jean Renoir famously said:
The hell of life is that everyone has his reasons.
Some people just might be jerks, but most people have a reason for their behavior — both good and bad. If we put it back on ourselves to understand the situation, perhaps we can affect it.
John Bastia, Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and executive coach, put it this way: “Is there something I can do to change how I’m showing up and influence the environment in which this other person is operating?“
You shouldn’t change who you are when dealing with others, but adjusting your approach can have big dividends.
So true. Dr. Bastien from Morehouse Medical School spoke to our Rotary Club yesterday. During her presentation she mentioned trauma that refugees and immigrants experience in their own country, and at any time before, during and after their journey to their destination. As much as I hate to admit this, that refugees and immigrants experience trauma (whatever it might be) was not top of mind for me. I can tell you it is now. How can one possibly think about policies surrounding immigration, or at the very least reach out to refugees and immigrants, without factoring this in? So yes, empathy always.