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. A teacher once 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 that she, too, was getting a divorce, the teacher 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 with the person, or even comment, you just have to indicate you are listening.

Beware, however, of “Uh-huh.” People catch onto that pretty quickly as a sign you may be trying to placate them, or aren’t listening at all.

Enjoy more “fact snacks” as we add them here. Find out when on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok and Bluesky or sign up for notifications. You can also buy the book!