Today is June 22 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often do you remind yourself to understand the actions of others before you comment, react, or judge?”
18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote “Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide?”
Successful people who navigate the chaos seek to understand the actions of others before commenting, reacting, or judging. Navigating the chaos requires one to have a curious mind.
The advent of social media, however, has made it far too easy for people to comment, react, or judge without spending a moment of time to reflect upon what it is they just saw, heard, or read. In short, we often lack curiosity for we are too busy commenting, reacting, or judging.
There are countless examples of people commenting, reacting, or judging before understanding the actions of others.
One example came on April 1, 2014 when National Public Radio (NPR) pulled an epic April Fool’s joke on its followers. On its social media platforms, NPR produced a phony article with attached picture and published it on their website. The "article" was titled, "Why Doesn't America Read Anymore."
When clicking on the link to the article readers were greeted by this message "Congratulations, genuine readers, and happy April Fools' Day! We sometimes get the sense that some people are commenting on NPR stories that they haven't actually read. If you are reading this, please like this post and do not comment on it. Then let's see what people have to say about this story."
Sure enough, many people jumped straight to the comment section and were firing off ignorant comments. Those who only read the title were quick to defend their reading habits. The irony was brilliant!
How often do you remind yourself to understand the actions of others before you comment, react, or judge?