Is what you think true?

Your Mindset Morsel this month is all about understanding why it is that other people sometimes see things so differently from you.

Of course, what you saw is the truth  - what they saw is just their opinion. But remember they’d say the same about you!

Want to understand why people see things differently from you?

Sport provides a great analogy to help us do this. If you’re not a sports fan, stick with this ‘cos it applies to any event: what happened on a night at the movies, a shopping trip, a meeting at work and so on.

Just ask a police officer how many different stories they get from witnesses of the same road traffic accident. 

So, imagine we all went to see a football match last week. Some of us supported the home team, some the away team, and some were neutrals. Talk to any one of us after the game and you might get some very different reactions and stories about the game and particular people or incidents during the game. For example...

...I’m very happy, the best team won

...absolutely miserable. We were so unlucky and deserved to win  

...angry at certain players for not playing well enough, or at officials for certain decisions
...the referee must be blind, that was never a penalty!
… that was an obvious penalty, he chopped his legs out from under him
...completely bored and fed up, football’s a stupid game and that was a waste of time
...etc, etc, etc.

So, who’s right? The answer is all of them (in their own opinion). BUT, what happened out there happened! Players played the way they did, made passes, made tackles, scored goals. The officials made the decisions they did.

We all saw the same event.

The reason we have such different opinions, and will even argue our corner about what happened is that we each see things through our own filters – primarily based on what’s important to us and our past experiences.

Your Action

Next time a client or colleague (or even your kids, partner or friend) doesn’t agree with you, chill for a moment and recognise that they’re every bit as convinced that they’re “right” as you are.

Ask yourself “How else could I respond and what could I say to get the best outcome for everyone?” Then do it and notice the difference to how you feel and the results you get.

Wishing you happiness and success.

Dave