COVID-19 has added so many extra layers of complexity to our lives. That’s why, more than ever, we need to communicate from a place of positive intent.
What do I mean? Well, there are two sides to this. Firstly, I offer that we should all consider that any piece of communication we receive comes from a place of positive intent. Some people are remote-schooling their children from home while juggling work. They’re stressed, and their time and mental space are limited.
Most of us are at best out of sync with what was normal, and at worst completely thrown into a state of extreme discomfort.
With all this happening we have a choice.
Metaphorically, I choose to put on my rose-coloured glasses, to believe that people are doing their best to communicate in how they write their emails, write a text, make a call in tough times. I choose to receive their communications from the perspective that they are of use and service to me. That’s a choice I want to make, something we can all choose to make.
My first choice: I choose to receive with positive intent.
The flip side is that everything I compose via text, email or otherwise must also come from a place of positive intent.
I realise that throwing rocks, being negative and causing disharmony doesn’t make other people’s lives – or mine – any simpler, any better.
I think it’s crucial that we not only read and listen from a place of positive intent but that our own written and verbal communications come from a similar place. Serving those we are connecting with, working with, being with.
To me, it’s a physical manifestation of how we can be a little kinder to ourselves and others each day.
My second choice: I choose to give with positive intent.
So, as you go about your week inside this world of social isolation, I offer that you think about these two thoughts. When you provide and receive communications, put on your rose-coloured glasses, so to speak, and come from a place of positive intent.
Doing these things allows us to all work together more effectively, more harmoniously, and towards the other side of this pandemic. Each of us is helping to create our “new normal” every day. And, who knows, if we choose to carry positive intent with us now, we may well hang on to it long after social isolation has ended.