I am continually amazed by the fact that despite a lack of education and experience, people feel that by reading an article on Facebook or a feed on Instagram, they are highly educated on a subject. I spent the day watching parents of high level young athletes impart their wisdom and knowledge about the sport of swimming. Sure, some of the parents in the stands have been competitive swimmers, but my guess is that most are like me. We have gained our knowledge from sweating through meets, watching other parents and listening at practice. I have absolutely nothing in the experience realm to offer my swimmer. What I can do is be present.
That goes for all of us in all of life's experiences. We are going to have situations that are unfamiliar. We are going to be introduced to new concepts and ideas. Our job is to be life learners, not instant experts. Tonight I will offer a Top 10 List. The title is '10 Ways to be UNfriended in Life'. To me, building any relationship is hard, but to build a friendship with your parents, your spouse, your children and your siblings, you must do hard work. Everyday. These relationships take time and effort and it's our job to do it! So, if you find yourself in a challenging friendship, consider if any of these things are playing into your conflict:
10. Always come from a place of judgement.
9. Assume that you have the answers and can help.
8. Jump into every conflict with a solution.
7. Listen to one side of the story and believe that you have all of the information.
6. Walk into every conversation with a pre-set mind.
5. Assume that they want to hear what you have to say.
4. Never share your own personal experience with the subject.
3. Try to fix everything your friend is doing.
2. Give advice.
1. Never ask any questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment