Bees Have Their Reasons

The coaching way is a bit of an obsession right now. Some things just make sense to me. I am talking about a coaching principle: people have perfectly good reasons for why they act the way they do. May not be all that profound to you. My anger index (if there is such a thing) goes down when I remember that.

Jerry Seinfeld made a convincing, highly motivated, Barry B. Benson in Bee Movie. Barry wanted to see what life was like outside the hive. Long story short, Barry, convinced a human (Renee Zellweger) of a terrible injustice. The injustice was humans using bees for their honey. A victorious class-action lawsuit follows. The results, however, is not what movie goers or Barry expected. Fun movie, if you like kids movies, and Seinfeld. I like both. Three stars out of five.

Our thinking is not always right. Neither are our actions. The vast majority of the time though, we have perfectly good reasons for doing what we do. My reasons may not make sense to you, but they do to me. My outcomes may be less than the best, but thinking I am stupid or calling me stupid does not help.

If you really want to help someone to the next level this week, first, spend time thinking about the perfectly good reasons they act the way they do. You will be surprised how that perspective lowers your anxiety and raises your empathy.

Fun weekend. Beautiful wedding. Fun games two nights in a row (New Yorker, Ruckus, and Taboo). Make your own pizza/sundae Saturday night with David, Krista, Owen, Aunt Mary Ann, Yvette, Anna, Abby, and me. Preached at Willow Sunday about a Scary, Merry Christmas and hung out at my favorite Sunday Night spot, Midtown Fellowship. Camden today plus World Headquarters. Big week, but, I can see land from here.