Think Before You Speak

One of the reasons we don't get along is because people state opinions by disrespecting other people's opinions.

This is classic type of bullying behavior that brings you up by pulling someone else down.

Ie: "You voted for Trump? What's wrong with you?" As opposed to: "I don't like Trump. I voted for Clinton"

The former disregards the person; their feelings, their opinions, their thoughts.  The latter simply states an opposing opinion, while respecting the other person. The former is offensive, the latter simply states an opposing opinion. The former is degrading, the latter is not.

Another: upon looking at what someone else is eating, you say: "That's disgusting." That line is more about the person than it is the food, and for most, it's not really what you meant to imply. Try: "I don't like that" instead; now you're talking about the food, not the person.

We all do it, with almost everything we don't agree with. We all need to learn to voice our opinions without discounting/disregarding other people's opinions.

The world can be a tough place for people, in ways that you have no idea. Why do you want to make it any worse?

Think before you speak. Think about HOW you are about to say something. Not hard. Takes some practise, but we can all get better at it.

© Ray Cattie