Lesson 3: Everyone is Fighting a Battle

About a year ago, I had a very sour attitude about a particular individual. No matter what I tried, nothing worked with this person. It was during this time that I ran into the following quote, which changed my perspective and life:

I was reminded of this quote the other day after talking with a challenging individual, who is often standoffish and difficult to interact with. After a brief conversation with this person, I learned that they have experienced more difficult things in their life than I have ever known. Not to excuse their behavior, but their behavior now makes sense to me because I realized that I needed to approach this individual with a different attitude.

Sometimes leaders forget that everyone has parts of their life that we know nothing about. The seemingly perfect individual may not be so perfect. The rude person may have just receive terrible news. The mistrusting colleague may be experiencing the effects of a life of abuse. 

We may only see one or two dimensions of their life, but we may never truly know their story. The fact is that everyone has one and this story shapes our thoughts, habits, relationships, and motivations. 

Imagine if all leaders could keep this quote in mind. How many misunderstandings could you avoid? How many situations would you navigate differently? How many difficult situations would you not take personally?