Inspiration – There Will Always be an Opposite

Inspiration – There Will Always be an Opposite

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd – March 2016

Maslow says “No matter how thinly you slice it – it still has two sides.”

We all have an opinion and we all want our opinion to be heard, or our side of the story told.  And yet, how often do we not want to hear someone else’s story or someone else’s opinion – especially if that story or that opinion is different to ours.

We wander through life getting upset with others when our own expectations are not met or our own perceptions do not meet the reality of what transpires.

We moan and groan about what our colleagues get up to or what is wrong with the government or how unfairly our significant other’s treat us or how they don’t listen or how they don’t do enough stuff to satisfy our requirements.

But, do we ever think about what we do?

Are we meeting the expectations of our colleagues?  Do we actually know what our colleague’s expectations are and if so would we even try and consider meeting theirs?

Do we ever try and look at the reality of the situation through eyes other than our own?

Am I suggesting that we put everybody’s needs ahead of our own – of course not!

The reality of course is, that we would never be able to please everybody all the time and apart from anything else, we would become exhausted and drained and of no use to anyone, including ourselves.

What I am suggesting however is that we perhaps stop for a moment and think about things before we walk through life like a bull in a china shop.  That we try and see the world through the eyes of others in order to better understand the “why” of what people do and perhaps act on that instead.

Yes we should always dance to our own drum beat, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t at least listen to the drum beat of others.

We may be pleasantly surprised at the different tunes we may get to hear.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za