Have you ever thought about the fact that often we judge someone’s worst behavior against our best behavior?
The other day I was with someone who was very annoyed about something and lashed out at me in the process. I took it personally (I shouldn’t have) and responded in a bit of a huff (not the right way to react). Later I went over the scenario in my head and thought about her inability to handle emotion and what she should have done. More judging!
What I was doing was judging her poor behavior against my best behavior, times when I was aware of how I was going to react, took a step back and handled a situation with diplomacy and tact.
On the other hand, there have been times when something really pushed my buttons and before I realized what I was doing or going to say, words came out of my mouth that I couldn’t take back. Then I spent days regretting my lapse in judgment when I knew better.
Here’s my point. The next time someone behaves in a way they shouldn’t, keep in mind none of us are perfect, and there may be times in the future when we demonstrate that lack of perfection as well. If we can cut someone a little slack (not excuse but not judge excessively) then we are modeling a better way to handle a potentially sticky situation and help others learn in the process. Seems much smarter than the alternative, doesn’t it?
