In any interaction, we may not know what burden another person is carrying.
We should try to understand where the other person is coming from.
It is difficult because we can never truly understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.
We haven’t.
We can try.
We can empathize.
We can listen.
And listening is the point at which we should begin. The key though is listening to understand, and not to respond.
The first step starts with being able to say I hear you.
I haven’t been through what you’ve been through, but I hear you.
You will want to respond. Your mind will tell you to react. You will want to share in order to connect. Don’t.
It’s not about your experience.
It’s not about you.
Rich