Volume XXI, Number 15 (Issue 1019) April 10, 2023
What Do You Mean?
Choosing one’s battles. A pyrrhic victory. Not a hill worth dying on. Discretion is the better part of valor. Going along to get along.
What thoughts and images come to mind when you encounter phrases like these? Personally, my first thoughts go to risk assessment including the potential cost vs. the reward. Next, comes the idea some battles simply aren’t worth fighting nor is it wise to fight them. Many of you know what I’m talking about. There are situations where even when you win, you lose. Then, when I get to the “going along to get along,” comment, I think “appeasement,” biting one’s tongue, and in the process, cheating others of your point of view. I am certain we would all be well served if we thought more before we speak. Likewise, we need to do a better job of choosing our words, the time, and place of delivery. But those needs must not get in the way of sharing one’s point of view. That is because differences of opinion are a good, not a bad thing. It is all in the way the message is offered. And one way to offer a difference of opinion is to preface it with, “I see it differently.” It is a far less caustic way of sharing your views without saying to someone, “You are wrong.”
Now, consider this next group of expressions.
It’s the principle of the thing. Death before dishonor. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I matter. My views matter.
Those expressions speak first and foremost about one’s values – the nature of those values, and one’s unyielding commitment to them. At least, that is what they say to me. Then, at the end, it is complemented by an adventurous, entrepreneurial spirit along with having belief in one’s self.
I raise these varied points for two reasons. First, to ask you to consider the power of words. The second is to remind you that our words can and frequently do trigger a range of thoughts that routinely contribute to what can best be described as a failure to communicate.
Soli Deo Gloria
“But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.’” Matthew 22:29
J. Keith Hughey
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E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
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Copyright 2023 by J. Keith Hughey. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for reproduction and redistribution of this essay as provided under the copyright laws of the United States of America. The entire early library of Monday Morning Musings issues may be found at www.jkeithhughey.com. Your comments are welcome and encouraged.