Monday, October 1, 2012


Most are aware that it’s no so much what one says as how they say it.  I’d like to add that timing of when something is said is just as crucial.  It’s true there are some things that are timely and need to be stated.  But most of those can wait until an appropriate time to be brought up. 

We all like to check things off our to-do lists.  Part of that involves verbalizing to others things that need to be addressed.  But what if someone’s already drowning in an overwhelming amount of things to be done?  Is it empathetic or our place to heap another shovel full of stuff onto their already full list? 

As mentioned above, there are things that cannot and should not be overlooked—timely matters.  But even those can be expressed in a more rather than less appropriate time.  Doing so might mean we’re not able to express to others things that need to get done according to our timetable.  We might have to wait.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  In fact, I believe there’s everything right with it.

How so?  Simple.  By acknowledging others—their personal circumstances—and waiting to express what needs to be done at a time when it might be better accepted, we accomplish a couple of things.  We feel good about being empathetic while getting more favorable results due to the person being in a better place to accommodate us.

Are there times when we won’t be able to wait for a better time?  Absolutely!  That’s life.  But whenever possible, we should make the effort to take the other person, their feelings and current status into consideration.    

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