Stepping into their shoes..

A few months ago, I had come across a post on Facebook. A couple went to a restaurant which was extremely crowded. It took over an hour for their food to arrive. What would you have done? Well, by thumb rule, I am never grumpy to waiters since they handle our food! Do not make them angry is my policy.  Anyway, the couple did something unexpected. They handed him a heavy tip and a thank you note.. For the waiter had been working tirelessly amidst the chaos and constant yelling by furious customers.

This post taught me a great lesson. I used to lose my temper when the security guards wouldn’t allow even the tiniest of chocolates to the workstation! (P.S. The last one was when I bought a pack of masala from a nearby store and the security wouldn’t let me take it in! Dude..! I’m not going to eat that masala and spill it at my desk) But it takes only a little patience to realize that it is not their fault and that they have been instructed to not allow associates to carry food to the workstations.

I am a fan of ‘Brain Games’ on Nat Geo. In one episode, the audience was asked to imagine their boss yelling at them for no reason. Obviously, we tend to get angry. Then the scenario was slightly changed. We were asked to imagine that our boss recently lost his house in a fire or has a sick child to care for. Now the imagination of the boss yelling had a different perspective. We were not so angry. Apparently, the human brain is naturally wired to be empathetic. Even if the boss did not really have a tragedy, imagining it helps. I don't really imagine a tragedy but just that he/she being yelled at by their boss. 

The black-blue-white-gold dress that broke the internet a few months back (read about it here, in case you haven’t come across it.) is a proof that we need to look beyond our perspective. We believe our eyes and hence are convinced that the dress is black-blue, but we should not fail to see that people who see it as white-gold are right too.

It takes only a moment. We have a choice to lose our temper or to empathize. It could be anyone- a spouse who has cooked a bad dinner, a child who has broken your favourite watch, a parent who takes time to master a new gadget, a friend who did not turn up when you needed, a co-worker who did not approve your idea or a complete stranger who was rude to you.

It takes only a moment to step into their shoes and see their perspective.

It does require patience and regular practice to get into the habit of empathy. But.. Wouldn’t the world be a better place to live in, if we reminded ourselves to step into their shoes every single time?