A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way April 13 Mirror Image Thinking

April 13

Mirror Image Thinking

There once was a mom who raised two lasses.

She trained them to get up off their asses.

When they could reason,

There was no pleasin”.

Adult children see through their own glasses.

Don’t expect others to behave or think as you. If you do, you fall trap to Mirror Imaging. This can be with spouses, friends, workers, children, your business employees and so on.  We can have great conversations and feel we are thinking alike but a situation may arise when suddenly there are very different reactions and behaviors we didn’t count on.

I raised two beautiful young woman who have more than blown me away with the raising of their own children.  Their responses and reactions are downright foreign to me at times.  It has caused arguments, hurt feelings and them feeling disrespected and believing I think they are bad moms.  I know they are great moms and doing the best they can, just as I did.

Today it was revealed that my own fear is clouding my responses.  Even after many years of counseling and time spent with my Lord repenting and asking forgiveness for poor choices I made in raising my children and experiencing my Lord wash me clean of such things I fall trap to rescuing my grandchildren from what I perceive as words or behaviors from my children that may so how damage them for life.  Grandmother’s love I used to think.  And I do love my grandchildren but fear needs to be uprooted. The process may take longer than I desire but I am so glad this truth was revealed.  Oh Lord, help me trust You more.

If I made it through childhood trauma and so did my kids then surely my grandchildren will too!  My Lord is well aware of every word that is spoken over us.  My prayer is to trust Him to give me deeper discernment to be still and only speak when absolutely necessary.

One really great way to have discernment is to place yourself in the other person’s shoes.  Try to see life through their perspective and not your own life experiences.  When you respond based on your experience you unwittingly can make the other person feel not validated.  You are viewing their experience through your eyes.  That is mirror imaging.

Let’s switch to the working world.  If you are a leader or business owner select a team to think like the people you are trying to reach such as shoppers, mothers, children, etc.  Once the team members are thinking alike set up a situation or circumstance that places them in the role of the people they are trying to reach.  Ask them how they would react.  Then ask yourself if you expected them to react in a certain way.  You will see so many more perspectives you may never have thought of. This helps to not use your own experience to decide how another would react.