THINK ... not the Aretha Franklin version!

Everyone you meet is going through a battle!

· How many times have you heard this phrase? Usually preceeded or followed by the words Be Kind.

· How many times have you seen it written on social media posts?

· How many times have you stopped and actually thought that you would like that fair treatment too?

· How many times have you thought about how ideal the world would be if everyone had to follow that?

· How many times have you actually practised that?

A few years back, when I was still working in a school for young kids, I used to find all sorts of stories to narrate in the morning. Most of them highlighted positive interactions. The main objective was to get the day started with a positivity injection hoping the effect would spill off in the right direction and get the team going.

One fine day, I noticed this visual on the door of one particular classroom and I thought it was a great idea. This was further encouraged by a changing positive quote on a daily basis. The children were encouraged to read it either in the morning or as they got back from their break time. I found it as a very great idea to get to the children’s world.

Until one day, two teachers had an ongoing argument between them. This had been going on for ages. The argument was long winded. It was clear that the two had unsettled past business and I felt very frustrated that I couldn’t get the two working together. Suddenly, I thought of the THINK abbreviation and I thought I would speak with them individually so that they would feel more at ease doing a reflective exercise about their thoughts, words and actions.

At times, teachers are like kids. They need help and guidance from an outsider to push them back in the right direction. It was gutsy for me to try this out as I could have found a resistance wall but thanks to my way of being, I did manage this through humour and a sense of practicality notwithstanding the emphasis on mutual respect.

Whether the person is a colleague or a student, whether the person is at your par or not, RESPECT prevails no matter the circumstance.

So next time, you decided to SPEAK simply THINK before you utter those words.