I am not one of those people who easily overlooks the little things. Little things matter.
I know someone who constantly forgets to tell me minor things or he will play them down.
The key here is that I said “constantly.” All of these little things add up to create big things: resentment, frustration, anger, stress. Examples:
- Last minute changes:
- Forgetting to keep me in the loop inconveniences me to drop what I’m doing and rush something through. The saying “Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine” doesn’t always hold true, especially in business.
- When he forgets something, and I have to remind him:
- I am not his mother nor am I his wife. I do not enjoy nagging someone to get me required information in order to perform a specific task. And I don’t mean to perform a task well, I mean to perform the task at all.
We all have those people in our lives that consistently repeat disrespectful habits. They type and scroll on their phone while we’re talking to them. They show up late everywhere they go. Whatever it is; I’m guilty of these bad habits too. But we’re more likely to be accommodating when the habits aren’t actually habits at all, but something that just happens occasionally.
A colleague and I frequently talk about intent vs. impact. We may not intend to do something, but the intent really doesn’t matter. The impact the action has is what matters. (And obviously I’m not speaking on this from a criminal offense perspective.)
How we perceive something (the impact) is our reality.
While we may not intend to offend someone with our actions, whether that is being forgetful, distracted, or whatever it may be, be mindful of the impact these actions have on others. It’s as simple as treating others as you would like to be treated.
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