She Sees Bubbles, I See Soap | The Key Leadership Inc
Having a beautiful five year old little girl in my house has added so much happiness and joy to my life in some of the most indescribable ways. They are such good students and they are also excellent teachers to constantly remind us to keep our hearts humble.
One such example where I had the privilege of becoming the student happened while I was running a mop around on my basement floor. I have been hosting for AirBnB for quite some time now and this particular night I had been working to straighten the space up before my guest arrived. I had put some lemon scent Pine Sol in the mop bucket as instructed on the bottle and filled the bucket with hot water.
As I was mopping the floor my adorable five year old daughter was playing around, jumping on the beds and climbing on the couch and chairs to keep her little feet from getting hit with the mop.
As I moved the bucket of water around on the floor she leaned over the couch and looked at the bucket of water and excitedly said "Look daddy! Bubbles!! I like Bubbles!!" I began to think carefully about what she had said. Let me share the thoughts that went through my head at that moment:
First, my daughter and I were both looking at the same exact bucket of water but we were looking at it differently, through different eyes. It took me longer than it should have, but what if we decided to look at things through the other persons eyes first. Almost make it an instinct. Be interested in how other people see things and give them the benefit of the doubt!
Second, I saw a tool she saw bubbles. I was so focused that night on making sure the space was clean and organized so that I could make a few dollars that I failed to look at things from the eyes of my precious little child. To me, that bucket of water was nothing more than a tool that would be used to make money. My five year old saw it as an opportunity to communicate and have fun with her daddy!
She just wants time with her daddy. She doesn't need to be ridiculed for always seeing the fun side of things, she hasn't lived but five years on this earth! I must give her credit for the five years of learning she has and let my 30 years of experience at living life fade into the background as I seek to recall what it must have been like in her shoes.
Have you ever found yourself at the office getting frustrated at that colleague that just doesn't' get it? Why don't we learn the word "Assertive" and "Empathy" Those two words are powerful when it comes to dealing with people. I know it comes as a shock, but not everyone is as smart as you are! Even the wisest man in the world understood that he didn't know everything there is to know about everything.
Give people a break. Let them grow. Every single person you encounter is on their own specific journey. You don't want to be the one that gets credit one day for trying to slow them down, you want to be the one that everyone knows you as someone who genuinely cares for others-- become a go-giver.
As Dale Carnegie says in his classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People" : "Look at everyone as though they are wearing a sign on their chest that says 'Make me feel special'"
Always ensure you are nice to everyone because everyone is having a tough time.