Here are this week’s 5 Life Pro Tips.
01. If you think you aren’t good enough at anything to stand out, be reliable.
Your faithfulness may be more useful to someone than being a flaky genius. One common error is people don’t deliver when they say they’ll deliver. Delivering on promises is huge. That alone can separate you from so many other people. Also, for many people it doesn’t matter how good you are if you aren’t here.
02. When people are grieving, do not throw your story on top of theirs
Sympathy is the ability to express ‘culturally acceptable’ condolences to another’s plight. Empathy is the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand relate as best as you can to how that person feels in the situation. Don’t assume that you know what others feel. Listen to what they say, and remember to listen closely.
Someone told me about the circle of grief and this is good: draw the event/person who is suffering. If X is dead, put X in the middle. Then draw a circle around them: that’s their immediate family, their life partner, the people who are suffering the most. Then draw a circle around them: that’s their closest friends. Then draw a circle around them: coworkers, etc. Find your place on the chart. Always support inwards, and dump out.
For example, my cousin died. So her mom, dad, sister, partner are in the middle. Then her closest friends are next. I’m extended family and I didn’t know my cousin well, so I’m in an outer circle. And further out are her coworkers. I’ve never once expressed my story of grief to the inner circle. Instead I support the inner circle. Then I speak to my partner or my friend, or someone unrelated for support. Support in, dump out.
03. Put a sticker with a fake PIN number on your debit card
If you lose it and someone tries to use it more than 3 times, the machine will eat the card. Also make an effort to make sure that some of the numbers sloppy or ambiguous. Like 8’s, 6’s or 4’s.
04. If you notice traffic starting jam up ahead of you…
In this case, if you can’t see what caused it, watch the semis to see what lane they get into. Often, they will radio one another to give a heads up about which lane is blocked up ahead, so they can move over before traffic gets too jammed up.
05. When house shopping…
Carry a small UV flashlight with you. Shine the UV flashlight on the carpet. Anything that shows up bright is likely dog or cat urine. The carpet may look good but under UV you’ll be able to tell if they had a pet, who had a lot of accidents. Use it as a bargaining chip to get the price down and get new carpet.
