What is happening with you?
People might withhold important information to you when they think you might respond to them through silence or violence. How do you make it easy for people then to talk to you about anything?
Watch your emotions. When a person has just said or done something that makes you angry, how do you react? Does it allow people to continue contributing to the discussion without fear of repercussions? Sometimes opinions and views may differ because people have different backgrounds, knowledge and understanding. It would be better then to create an environment that allow people to share their own meaning and then you can understand their side of the story.
You can follow some simple steps to help yourself restore the healthy conversation and relationship. You need to Observe, Interpret and Apply (OIA) the correct meaning before making critical decision. In Observation, you need to separate the facts from emotions. This is what can be clearly observable though senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste etc. The question is, what did the other person or yourself do or say that could be observable? The second step is Interpretation or emotions. It is about the meaning and conclusions you made after the observation. What was your understanding of what has just happen? These meanings might be correct or incorrect. Just to make an example, you might have concluded that someone was undermining you or insulting you when he said certain words or did something only to find that his intention was to appreciate you. Get other possible meaning first. Lastly apply the full meaning of your story by getting the other side of the story. Find the other people’s observation and interpretation before making a conclusion. These steps can assist in restoring broken understanding and relationship. Watch yourself and make it easy for people to talk to you even after some misunderstandings.
Pro 8:7 Says “For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is hateful to my lips.”
Watch yourself. From Simtandile Dlepuma. Stay blessed.