The 3 Things You Always Need No Matter Who You’re Talking To
Love and respect and honesty
Without all 3, you will lose.
With all 3, you’ll win.
This is a short and simple piece — and for good reason.
Most of us have morals… and if we don’t, we know what morals are.
We can often identify hatred.
We can often sense disrespect.
We can often pick out a liar.
So how often do we practice all three at once?
If you’re anything like me, this is a weakness.
Self-Evaluation
Take a few moments to reflect on each of the following questions:
Has someone recently misinterpreted what you said and were offended as a result?
Did anyone appear to be uncomfortable based upon your gaze in their direction?
Can you recall a time where you said something and it seemed to force the person you were speaking with to pause and digest what you said?
Have you caught yourself rambling and elaborating on something that you said happened?
My friend… if you can think of occurrences of the above things, hatred is present, disrespect is present, and lying is present too.
In my opinion, hatred and disrespect are not about you — they’re about the other person.
If someone else hears what you say and feel as though you’re being disrespectful — own up because you’re being disrespectful.
Yes, some people are more easily offended than others but that’s more or less unimportant.
Speak love and speak respect and speak honestly. It’s not easy!
Being honest with yourself
Do you know what the platinum rule is?
“Treat others the way they want to be treated.”
That’s so so important — but not many people practice it. Certainly, not enough people practice the platinum rule.
Why?
Again, it’s not easy.
The platinum rule is:
1. Respectful
2. Loving
3. Honest
We must really care about the other person if we are going out of our way to do unto them as they would like for us to do unto them.
Think about the people that you spend time around the most.
Think about the people that energize you the most.
Think about the people that you are consistently energized to see.
What do they all have in common?
I’m confident that those people don’t often speak hate onto you.
I’m confident that those people don’t often disrespect you.
I’m confident that those people don’t often lie to you.
If they did, why would you ever spend a lot of time around them or be energized by their presence or be excited to see them??!
Putting Love, Respect, and Honesty into Practice
This is, of course, the most difficult part for many if not all of us.
Action is difficult, it’s a lot easier (and more comfortable) to maintain the status quo and stay with how things are.
We need to step out of our comfort zone and give without the expectation to receive. That’s pretty obvious though, we know that we cannot expect others to practice love, respect, and honesty consistently. How could we?! We don’t do it ourselves!
That does not mean that it’s okay to hold ourselves to the same standard as we do other people.
We must call ourselves up to who we can be and LOVE.
We must call ourselves up to who we can be and RESPECT.
We must call ourselves up to who we can be and BE HONEST.
It’s not easy but life is not meant to be easy.
We live in a fallen world where people are led astray on a regular basis.
“As water reflects the face so one’s life reflects the heart.” — Proverbs 27:19 NIV
“‘You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.’” — Romans 2:1 NIV
“‘Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.’” — Proverbs 4:26–27 NIV
Actions Have Consequences
“How you react without understanding the context will define you.” — Harrison Wendland
There are so many different things that we can always say and do. But why?
Why do you act the way that you do and why do you say the things that you do?
Why are there things that you never say and never do?
There should be reasons for all of those things — be it morality or religion or reputation — understand why.
“Our minds focus on things that enter them for a reason, identify and understand that reason.” — Harrison Wendland
Remember what matters most and give first.
Love and respect and honesty.
Without all 3, you will lose.
With all 3, you’ll win.