In the speed of today’s world, it appears that when things go wrong, there seems to be one common factor. Or rather, one missing ingredient.
Perspective.
Without consulting google for the official definition, it seems that perspective (or the lack of) is the contributing factor to so many situations gone wrong. Think about the scene at gas stations on Ontario Street in St.Catharines when prices are intentionally dropped to well below normal. People morph from polite human beings into panicked, bargain chasers who risk their lives driving across oncoming traffic. They abandon all decorum to save $5.00 on a tank of gas only to drive up the street and spend $7.00 on Tim Horton’s coffee.
The driver who is weaving through traffic on the QEW and tailgating at 130 km/h in order to get to their destination (hopefully) a few minutes earlier.
The angry guy in the grocery store line-up because the people in front of him aren’t moving along quite fast enough.
The diner who treats their waiter like dirt.
The plane passenger who rudely confronts a flight attendant because the flight is delayed due to winter weather and the need to de-ice the plane.
Maybe it’s the need to find an outlet for their general frustration with life at the moment. Perhaps it’s a by-product of anxiety or stress in a given situation. Sometimes it’s just a person who is so knee-deep in their negative attitude that they are completely oblivious to their impact on the lives of those around them.
Either way, it is a collective lack of perspective.
With perspective comes empathy. The ability to step back and question if that cheaper tank of gas is worth the baggage that goes with it. The thought that putting the lives of other drivers on the QEW at risk is probably not a fair exchange for your need for speed. That the cashier at the grocery is doing her best and the extra 3 minutes you’ll wait in line won’t really matter.
That your waiter is another person with the same package of emotions and feelings that you have. Realizing that the flight attendant has approximately zero influence on the reason why the plane needs to be de-iced before hurtling through the sky at 800 km/h.
The challenge is our awareness to catch ourselves in these situations before the triggers are flipped. Notice that we can control our reaction to situations and greatly impact the process and moments in our life.
So, when a buyer and seller sit down to navigate through a potential sale, it is crucial to make sure some perspective is applied. Perspective and awareness of who is sitting across the table from you. What is their story? What is influencing their decisions that may fill in some gaps and help you understand their actions.
Have they lived in the home for 60 years and are not concerned with the fact that you want to rip their home apart? Are they selling under duress and need things to be as simple and straight forward as possible? Are they a couple, young or old, aggressive and unsure, seasoned or rookies? Then add in your self-awareness and perspective of the big picture and you’ll have a much greater shot at success.
Now go out there and spread some kindness and perspective!
Thank-you for visiting.
…photo credit belongs with Red Charlie
THEbTEAM.