Sunday, November 27, 2011

Could the opposite also be true?

I, for one, can get trapped into believing my own thoughts, perspectives and truth. 

I was thinking about this in relation to cross cultural understanding, as I prepared for this week's work in China.

We can so easily delude ourselves into believing our way of thinking and doing is the right way, the only way...which at the minimum limits our opportunities for understanding and connecting, and at worst is offensive and dangerous.    It not only happens when we come face-to-face with a different culture.  It inevitably happens in our own day-to-day interactions and conversations, when we stick adamantly to our truth and fail to acknowledge, let alone consider, that another, or several other views equally valid and truthful, can exist.

This snappy TED clip from Derek Sivers reminds us of that.

So maybe a good question to ask when we find ourselves or others fixed to an opinion or perspective is... “could the opposite also be true?”  

You just may find it is.

A potentially powerful question,  I would suggest,  which is useful to ponder in most situations...except maybe matters of the heart.  In my experience, if he tells you he doesn’t love you, you can pretty well guarantee that the opposite isn’t true ;)

2 comments:

  1. Great TED clip, which Si loved too (we're working opposite each other) - particularly the different versions of 'the empty spaces in between' & paying Chinese doctors only when you're healthy - now there's a radical concept!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. here's to turning things on their heads!

    ReplyDelete