Rarely do I see or hear something that flicks my wick. Most of the time I can activate my southern ways and “kill them with kindness”. I do have some friends though who wear their emotions on their sleeves and are willing to let you know their stance in an elevated manner. In this heightened posture is where most things go wrong. Either something is said that shouldn’t have been or someone reacts in a physical manner. Emotional intelligence is a tough skill to grasp. An individual’s right to an opinion is part of our culture and values, but it is also the right of others to have opposing viewpoints. I ask this, can you listen to something that you completely disagree with and appreciate the fact that your way might not be correct or that you can take in the conversation without exploding with anger?
I recently graduated with a Masters in Military History from a fine establishment in Alabama. This level of education is a traditional path for most military members and is focused on each service’s background. The school tackled differing war time theories, service history and joint planning to name a few. The best part of a program like this though is that they teach from varying viewpoints. They look at different opinions on major topics and events. They tell tales of warfare from both sides which generate student thought. Most writing assignments force students to take a stance and form an opinion with supporting documentation to back it up. This degree not only professionalized my understanding of our military force, but also taught me an important lesson going forward. I learned to seek multiple viewpoints and consider different factors when forming your own opinion. I never really questioned why I believed in things the way I did, I just assumed the way I was raised or learned in school were correct. Apply this to today’s worldly news or geopolitical environment and you will quickly start to see your viewpoints might not be as obvious as you previously thought.
My task for you today is to read the “other” new source, the one that you despise and hate because of the differing stance it approaches to the news. The one that makes your skin crawl or elevates your blood pressure. Read it, but love the fact that you can have an emotional response to a topic, but become a better person for it. Appreciate a differing take on a controversial topic and seek to understand why someone might have a valid point. Try to agree with them in this mental exercise and grow from the experience. After you do this a for a few days, try and use it on your day to day activities. When your spouse comes to you with something off the wall, seek to better appreciate that he or she might have a competing interest for the request. Who knows, you might learn something new about the ones you love most.
Different Boots 