It was eight or nine years ago. I was relatively new to the area and was at an event. I didn’t know anyone there and found myself in a conversation that sticks with me to this day. He was an oncologist and talked about how much he loved his job. There was a lightness to him and it was clear his work was very meaningful. It surprised me. Wouldn’t that be one of the toughest jobs out there? But, he talked about how he saw the best in humanity. People realized what really mattered. It was fascinating listening to him. He could have looked through the lens of negativity and seen everything that was bad. He chose to see and focus on the positive side of what he does and his ability to help people see the best in their relationships and life.
That lesson is a good one for every part of life. The lens you look through defines what you see. From a business perspective, you’ll run across all sorts of people and situations every day. It can be easy to write off a coworker, customer or supplier based on a perceived negative interaction. But if you look through and try to see their intent, it may cause you to change the lens you look through to see that the way a message was sent and the way it was received were entirely different. How can you make sure you are looking through the positive lens of good intentions every day?