I had a couple different conversations this week with folks and it occurred to me again just how many times we use words to describe people that we shouldn’t.
I’m talking about the kind of words that categorize people into groups that include far more than they do or should.
One of the easiest examples I can think of centers around politics. If you call someone a “liberal” or a “conservative” it too often comes with the assumption that this person supports or opposes an all encompassing list. Personally, I have found that my friends who actually think things out are not even close to agreeing with everything that these two groups include.
In reality, it’s rare that any two people are going to agree on all of the issues, opinions, beliefs, etc. that are included in either of those two titles.
When you think about this in other areas of life you will probably find, as I did, that we do this with so many different words. I’m going to work harder myself in being more specific in how I speak to someone’s position, belief, actions, etc. in any given area, leave it to that specific item and not present any assumptions on anything else.
Working on oneself is a never ending process and I’m always trying. It does mean though that you have to be willing to change and often, you have to be willing to admit that you may have been doing it wrong previously. I have seen people who will just continue as they have because they aren’t willing to do this. Misplaced pride is never good.
What things are you working on? If you ever want to talk about it don’t hesitate to reach out to me or someone else. Or, ask me for an invitation to a WAM meeting. With two people from one of our meetings moving we are hoping to find good people to take their seats.
Have a productive and successful week!