I heard Stephen Covey talk about an incident when he was on a subway on a Sunday morning. It was very peaceful until a man and his three children got on his car. They began hitting people's newspapers, making lots of noise and disturbing everyone...everyone except their father.
Stephen said he became very angry at this man for not doing anything. He said he was furious.
Finally, he had enough and he asked the man to control his children.
The man sheepishly said, "Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I guess they aren't sure how to react to the news they just heard. We are coming from the hospital and they just learned their mother has died."
Stephen said his entire demeanor changed in an instant. Instead of being angry, he immediately was filled with compassion for this man and his children.
I often think about this when someone treats me poorly or cuts me off in traffic. I have no idea what is going on in their lives so I need to cut them some slack.
Zig Ziglar wrote something about a similar topic - go here to read more.
Stephen said he became very angry at this man for not doing anything. He said he was furious.
Finally, he had enough and he asked the man to control his children.
The man sheepishly said, "Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I guess they aren't sure how to react to the news they just heard. We are coming from the hospital and they just learned their mother has died."
Stephen said his entire demeanor changed in an instant. Instead of being angry, he immediately was filled with compassion for this man and his children.
I often think about this when someone treats me poorly or cuts me off in traffic. I have no idea what is going on in their lives so I need to cut them some slack.
Zig Ziglar wrote something about a similar topic - go here to read more.
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