Less Patience for Foolishness
After you have “been there, done that” for a while, it becomes exponentially more difficult to accept the ideas and actions of people who are naïve or unwilling to accept reality.
Fortunately, you can usually just step away.
If you have to interact, though, there are ways to handle situations.
A teacher taught me one wonderful way to do that. The first time a parent came in for a conference and said, “I’m getting divorced,” she sympathized.
The woman assured her the divorce was a good thing.
The next time a parent came in and announced a divorce, she carefully asked, “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” (It was a bad thing.)
Now educated, the teacher told us, “Now I just say, ‘Wow!’”
“Wow!” covers a lot of territory. You don’t have to agree, you just have to indicate you are listening.
Beware, however, of “Umhum.” People catch onto that.
