One of my friends mentioned she wants to start being less easily offended. And she wanted to know my suggestions for how she could make that change.
“Become a duck and let it run off you.”
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the best advice. After all, there are some things we need to be offended by. Some things are wrong. We need to stand up for truth.
But I think we take things too personally at times. If we’re concerned about being offended, we almost expect offense and read and hear it in what others send and say to us. We need to be aware of the filters we’re using. We can’t completely know another person’s motivation, but we can look for clues, assume the best, follow up with questions, and gauge what’s going on through multiple interactions and responses. Sometimes we simply know the person well enough to keep a comment or reaction in context. It doesn’t make it okay, and it doesn’t mean we don’t confront it at some point, but we don’t have to engage and argue about every small offense.
Choose well.
Listen well.
Respond well.
Cope, confront, heal, and reconcile well.
Relationships are worth the effort. Keep truth at the center of them.
