It's All In How You See It

We are faced with a wide array of situations as people helpers. Each situation offers us the opportunity to choose how we are going to respond. Our response depends, in part, how we view the situation. Our view could be right or wrong. Here is an example (thanks to Kim Klaver):

One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: "I am blind, please help."

A creative publicist was walking by and stopped to observe. He saw that the blind man had only a few coins in his hat. He dropped in more coins and, without asking for permission, took the sign and rewrote it. He returned the sign to the blind man and left.

That afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it was he who had rewritten his sign and wanted to know what he had written on it.

The publicist responded: "Nothing that was not true. I just wrote the message a little differently." He smiled and went on his way.

The new sign read: "Today is Spring and I cannot see it."

You see, it all depends on how we view a situation. Here's another example:

Let's say you're an owner of a store that sells precious, breakable glassware. You've had some instances where children were left unattended and broke several of your inventory.

Remember, it's all in how you view the situation.

One option is to post a sign on the door that reads, "CHILDREN ARE NOT TO BE LEFT UNATTENDED. IF CAUGHT, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE STORE."

Or you could do what one store owner did and post this sign:

Our response to situations depends on our view of them. In essence, you could say it depends on our mindset. And our mindset has a tremendous impact on our balance & self-care.

By the way, the Serving Strong eNews subscribers are currently receiving a series on Mindset into their inboxes every Tuesday at 6:00 am EST. If you would like to join the Serving Strong Community and start receiving the eNews, feel free to subscribe. It's free. The issues are short reads designed to keep balance & self-care in the front of your mind as you serve.

View your situations accurately, respond wisely and you'll be Serving Strong!