Every now and again I will have a strong thought or a reaction about something and I will be adamant that my thinking is right.
Now usually, these thoughts border on uncharitable. I have learnt that when this happens, the safest thing for me to do is to check my thinking with someone whose opinion I trust. I never let that thought fester, because I know it can take me down a rabbit hole, to a worse version of me.
Here is a recent example. About a month ago, I started seeing LinkedIn posts and comments written in languages other than English. I would get frustrated because my thinking was that the version of LinkedIn I was on was the English version – therefore those using additional languages were being discourteous.
I also knew that my thinking this was non inclusive, but I could not articulate why. So I called my colleague @briar who is the fount of all knowledge on inclusion and accessibility.
Briar explained it simply:
1. Some people are not that confident with English, so they use a language they are most confident with
2. These folks write for their community and network – and so they choose the language most suitable for that group,
Mind blown. So friends, there are some things I am absolutely dead-set convinced about for example, the benefits of vegetarianism.
Then there are many, many other things where I know getting additional perspectives will help. So I ask people smarter than me to enlighten me.
So people, who are the Briars in your world?
