My social media feed is probably a lot like yours. There are people that I really like. They are my true friends. I love keeping up with them. There are also people that I enjoy “following.” They might be funny, or interesting, or kind or a train-wreck. Either way, they are there for my entertainment. Unfortunately, there are others. These are the folks that are “friends” with me on social, but I don’t really care for. Most of the things they post make me roll my eyes or get annoyed. As a matter of fact, some days, this final group is all I seem to see!
The other day I was mindlessly scrolling on Facebook when one of the people from the final group had a post. They were complaining about something (as this group seems to do incessantly) and they had a suggestion to fix it. As usual, it was a totally absurd suggestion and I began my eye roll sequence. And then I paused and had a thought.
What if the answer was “yes?”
Stay with me on this. So many times, when we hear ideas or suggestions from people we don’t love or respect, our automatic response is to discredit it. We assume that whatever they are going to suggest is destined to be stupid, expensive, short sighted, or worse yet, evil. We don’t agree on most things, so how could they possibly have an idea that is good? Often we discredit the idea because of the person bringing it to the table.
But what if we looked at ideas (for real problems) with an “attitude of yes” regardless of where they came from?
The thought process would be a different one. Our brains would automatically start to think through the logistics of how it COULD work, instead of how it was dumb. For me, as I worked through the logistics of this Facebook idea, I found that it was not as “eye rolling” as I first believed. There is a pathway that might make it work. Maybe.
The magic behind this is we start to judge the idea independent of the person (or personality) behind it. When we do that, in business, politics, family and life, we get access to more perspectives, ideas and solutions. It’s easier said than done. But it’s powerful.
So the next time you see a crazy idea from “the other side” or a wild suggestion from that crazy Facebook friend, ask yourself a question.
What if I looked at this with “an attitude of yes?”
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