ARE YOU ASUCCESSFUL RELATER?
Think of it this way . . .
“I know a man was outta touch
And he’d hide in a house, and he didn’t say much
And like a man with a tiger outside his gate
He not only couldn’t relax, but he couldn’t relate”
-Neil Diamond, Crunchy Granola Suite
How well do we relate to others? We need to know because, by nature, we all tend to be self-centered. After our birth, we soon learn that everything and everyone else is here to make us happy. Then, as we mature, we’re taught about sharing and getting along well with others. And, yet our basic human nature still tends to be one of self-centeredness.
The hard truth, which we learn later, is that not everyone is going to admire or even like us. Just so, we’re not going to like or get along well with everyone we run across either. “I get the feeling ol’ So-&-So doesn’t like me; they don’t speak – it’s like they try to avoid me. What did I ever do to them?” “If you invite them… I’ll not be there.” Why are we like that? Faulty human-nature, I suppose. We don’t (and won’t) see eye-to-eye on every single thing. If we did, it would be a dull, uncomfortable world, at best. We’ve all heard that “it takes all kinds” and that “variety is the spice of life.” I truly believe that, and I also believe that we can work on improving our faulty human-nature.
Surely, out of the thousands of people in the vicinity of our little corner of the world, we can find some with whom we may happily get along and enjoy their companionship. And, because the only person I can truly change is me, I’ll work on being a good, personable person. I’ll try to avoid annoying habits, vulgar profanity and self-centeredness. I’ll try to be sincerely interested in others; and, as the Boy Scouts of America say it: “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind.”
“To build a personality that is liked and admired, we must start with a sound foundation. There is no sounder foundation than sincerity and selflessness.” -Murray Banks, How to Live with Yourself
-John D.
