With the enhanced covid measures, I have had a little bit of time to do some self reflection lately. And I realized that there are areas in myself that I would really love to work on.
First of all, pride.
Well, most of my friends know me as that friendly, happy and easy going person. But deep inside me, I have pride issues. I feel that I am better than other people. Funnier, more incisive, wittier… This pride in me has led me to become impatient with people. I get frustrated when they don’t seem to get my point.
But then I realized, that I am not the smartest. Funniest. Nor the wittiest. There is so much knowlege and wisdom out in the world, that I have not even acquired 1% of it. I can’t be impatient with people who don’t get my point, but I should instead work on communicating my point across in a more efficient manner.
And sometimes, people just won’t get it. It is a part and parcel of life.
Due to my impatience and pride, I have been curt and impolite towards some people. If you are reading this and you have been rubbed the wrong way, I apologise. I am sorry.
Humility is something that doesn’t come naturally. It is a constant reminder that I need to submit to the most high God, and that I is a smaller word than Him.
Imagine if God has been curt towards me, for all the mistakes that I have made. I would truly be a sad and miserable person. Thank God for His grace, and I pray that I will be gracious towards others as well.
Secondly, prejudice.
I am a prejudiced person. I am prejudiced against people whom I think are not like me. They don’t share the same experiences and values.
For example, LGBT. Due to my faith, I don’t approve of the lifestyle and choice of sexual orientation. As a result, I do have certain assumptions and prejudices against this group of people.
And admittedly, while I do have a couple of friends who are homosexuals, I am not close to them at all. Nor do I make any real attempts to understand them better.
I am also prejudiced against people who hold different political ideologies to myself. I am a social capitalist. As a result, I hold certain assumptions about people who subscribe to a different political ideology. I think this is a major stumbling block to any discussions about economics and politics moving forward.
As an NLP practitioner, I would need to constantly ask myself this question, “Is it real, or am I making assumptions based on my values and beliefs?”
Of course, I would need to be proactive in asking for feedback, and be open to receiving feedback.
Life is a journey, and I am a willing traveller in this journey. There will be different experiences, some happy, some challenging, and some poignant.
But I believe, as long as we are committed to working on our blindspots, we will enjoy this journey.