How to get along with almost everyone and still have an opinion

How to get along with almost everyone and still have an opinion

If you’re an active person with an opinion, it’s almost impossible to avoid conflict. This is the 21st century. The world is connected. There’s nowhere left to hide. And that means you have to interact regularly with people who are different from you.

People are diverse. We like to eat different food, wear different clothes, listen to different music, watch different movies and read different books. We also differ on core beliefs, like religion, politics and philosophy, and even the mannerisms, thought processes and ways of acting and reacting that make up our personalities.

Naturally we form close friendships with people when we have a lot in common, and we minimize interactions when we have little in common. When we don’t share interests, beliefs or ideals with someone, we just don’t get them.

But often we have no choice. We have to interact with people we don’t get because they are colleagues, bosses, classmates, neighbors, or family. Or maybe we are just stuck sitting next to them on an airplane and they want to talk.

Some of these people rub you the wrong way and conflict seems unavoidable. Sure, you can probably get along with them if you keep your head down and your mouth shut and pretend to agree with everything they say. But who wants to do that?

If you do that often enough it will destroy your personality and your soul. It will fill you with resentment and frustration. You will become a hollow, subservient doormat or you will explode with rage and do something you will regret.

Is it possible to get along with these people without losing your personality and opinions in the process?

You won’t get along with everyone all the time. If you are an active and assertive person, you will get into disagreements once in a while. This is healthy and normal. But if you minimize unnecessary disagreements and control the backlash when they do occur, you can get along with most people most of the time.  To do this you will need to utilize certain key traits. Continue reading

The old man on the bench

The old man on the bench

The old man on the bench is a flash fiction story I wrote a few years ago. It is about the importance of human connection and understanding. I decided to post it here because I think it fits in well with the theme of this blog.

Enjoy!

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Every morning old Jeremiah Stuart took his coffee mug and his cardboard sign down to the park bench. He placed the sign on the bench next to him and sipped his coffee, waiting.

The sign read: SIT HERE FOR REWARDING CONVERSATION.

No one did.

Every evening old Jeremiah Stuart picked up his sign and his coffee mug full of change and returned to his million-dollar apartment, where he ate dinner alone and went to bed alone. Continue reading

How to use your empathy superpower to heal the world

How to use your empathy superpower to heal the world

Did you know that you have a superpower? Yes, you. It may not be as sexy as flying or superspeed, but it’s much more practical because you can use it without creating a secret identity or landing on the front page of the newspaper.

Would you like to know how you can use it to heal the world?

Then read on…

Continue reading