Epiphany #7: Miscommunications

We have miscommunications a daily basis. People are rood, judgmental, and let's be honest, think about themselves all of the time. Overall, most can agree that we need to be learning about being better communicators. We need to speak more clearly, say what me mean, and mean what we say. I used to feel the same exact way. That is until my professor shared a vital piece of information that ignited a paradigm shift in the way I thought about communication.

He said that the way we decode and interpret someone's messages to us is at least half of the problem. Just think about it: we decide what any given situation means to us. We can choose what we make of it, and that is what it becomes. The scientific term of "The Self-fulfilling prophecy" is very real, and we need to recognize that we are the ones with a duty to decide. As we work to interpret what people are communicating to us, we will keep emotions from fogging up our perceptions, and lead us to seeing the real facts. Truth is the only thing that will always cut through the darkness, and we will have the most effective communications when we have an attitude of understanding and love, rather than criticism and malice. 

It's taken me a really long time to begin to understanding communications in this way. We need to be better communicators. Yes that includes being as clear and responsible as possible. However, we need to be seeing the other party through this same lens instead of assuming the exact opposite. In other words, we need to be willing to decode messages on the side of mercy. This valuable skill can transfer into any setting, whether it be work or family. We would all do well to "Try a little harder to be a little better (Gordon B. Hinkley)." When we do we are empowered to have the necessary energy we need in order to make our relationships count, and in a world like the one we have there is no more room for error.