Know Your Intent in Every Interaction

We have varying reasons for interacting with people, that is, for opening our mouths and either asking a question or making a statement. But I’d wager that far more often than we’d like to admit, we speak off the cuff rather than knowing exactly why we’re saying what we’re saying. Such blatant ignorance of intention not only may harm others and our relationships with them (think children), but it’s a bad habit which does us no good. Some folks are often irrational and most of us are that way sometimes. Blame it on the human brain. When you’re interacting with others, you want to keep an eye not only on what’s going on within you, but what’s happening within them. Are you or they trying to win argument, be right, make the other person wrong, blame, shame, or cause pain, all of which are unhelpful tactics. These are overreactions, dysregulated emotions...