Being a coach is a huge gift because people tell me things, not just clients, but also people I meet in my day to day life. Partly it’s my natural coach curiosity (or nosiness!) that means I ask about them, but also it’s because I’m trained in how to listen. In the last few weeks I have been particularly struck by how little we know about people when we first encounter them, and how we might view them or treat them differently if we knew a little of their story. Recently I’ve heard stories that have been absolutely heart-breaking, some have been inspiring, others fascinating. What strikes me is that you would never know any of it when you first see each person. It’s all going on in the background. And yet:
How would we treat someone whom we knew had terminal cancer?
Or someone who devotes their life to charitable causes?
Or someone who has lost a child?
Or someone who once had a full-on jet set lifestyle but now they have a simple, low paid, job?
Or someone going through a divorce?
Or someone who hasn’t had a good night sleep in years and is absolutely exhausted?
Or someone who has just suffered a bereavement?
When we meet people we tend to, unconsciously, make up assumptions about them and put them in a particular category. But we have literally no idea what path they have taken in their life or what might be going on for them right now. Which seems to leave us with only one option: To treat everyone with kindness. Everybody can always benefit from a dollop of kindness and some people need a lot more than others … even if we are not aware of how much they need it. Please share and let’s spread a little more kindness. Sue X