4. Reverse your assumptions.
It’s helpful to reverse our assumptions. We default to seeing what’s different. What would happen if we decided to first look for what is the same. I don’t have any skateboard tattoos on my neck, but I drew my new friend’s neck tattoo about 1,000 times during math class as a middle school student. This also explains how well I did in math class.
My friend Andy Stanley calls this “choosing to believe the best, not assume the worst.” I love this. When there is a superficial difference, assume there is internal unity.
These considerations go well beyond tattoos and skin color, although neither are bad examples. This approach will help us in every version of “different than me” interactions.
Question: How would your interactions change if you reversed your assumptions?
Wrapping it up.
As a leader, this approach is critical to engaging followers. As a husband, this is essential for fully loving our wife. As a wife, the same for your husband. As a parent, we can love, parent, discipline, encourage, and coach our children uniquely to their uniquenesses.
Digging deeper improves our perspective. It helps us understand. Nothing is only surface deep.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
