Me, me, me... I, I, I...

Happy Wednesday!

Ever notice how some people seem so self-absorbed? While it's important to take care of yourself, it shouldn't be at the expense of others. We need to balance our self respect with consideration for others. As we’re aligning to our own truth (priorities, passions, needs), we have to acknowledge that there are others out there with their own truths (priorities, passions, needs). Recently on a flight, I watched as one person’s priorities and needs interfered with another’s. The irritation in her voice interrupted my reading as the woman one row up and across the aisle was loudly complaining to her husband about the smell of feet. I discreetly glanced over and noticed the young man behind her had his shoes off and his socks looked like they’d been worn for months. It would be easy to assume that he had little consideration for others around him. She made it known to all the suffering she endured! I'm sure it was irritating as she had no where to escape the smell. And I don’t know if he heard her or not; I only know he never put those shoes back on until we landed. Perhaps he had just spent a month in a third world country building schools for kids and hadn't been able to shower, and his feet were sore and swollen. Where was her consideration for him, and everyone else as she loudly complained?

Lack of consideration in the workplace can cause inefficiencies. I remember feeling like I was doing a great job as an admin by keeping my desk cleared and promptly giving my boss anything that was for him. I took great pride in having things completed and a clean work space. One day he asked me if I could hold anything that wasn't urgent until the end of the day, so we could cut down on the interruptions. I hadn't even considered that I was interrupting him! It made perfect sense once I was informed. But I hadn't thought of his needs - only my own.

As important as knowing ourselves and aligning to our truth is, it is also important that we consider other people and situations, and to realize that we may not know the whole story. So the next time you're making yourself more comfortable, or taking care of any need you have - just stop for a moment to consider who it might be impacting, and what you might not know about the situation. Then make your choice. It might still be more important to you regardless of how it impacts others. But just try putting yourself in their shoes first!

.Cheers,

Want a topic covered? Or have a specific question? Submit them here.