![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/treat-people-with-kindness-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One of the many wise sayings of Maya Angelou is:<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the best you can until you know better,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Once you know better, do better.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I find that a very powerful thought<\/span>, not only for ourselves<\/span> but also to be able to be more empathetic towards others.<\/span> Because when we judge<\/span> others for \u2018acting stupid\u2019, for \u2018being insensitive\u2019, for \u2018making things worse\u2019, \u2026we forget<\/span> that in most cases that\u2019s the best they can do at this very moment. People, mostly, do not intend to hurt people, do not intend to be insensitive, it\u2019s just the only way they know how to handle the situation. This does not mean you have to indulge their behavior, no, but it can help you to not take it personally.\u00a0 Once people are conscious of their behavior, then and only then, can they decide to change their behavior. Once they want to change, they are open to learn and once they learn, they can do better.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When I read the above saying, to me, this is an invitation:<\/span><\/p>\n to analyze my way of thinking, my way of behaving.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to learn what else is possible,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to grow,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to open myself up to new ideas,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to see things from another perspective,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to listen more attentively and to try to understand more,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n to become silent and peaceful, \u2026<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Because once you do all of the above, you\u2019ll see more, you\u2019ll hear more, you\u2019ll know more.<\/p>\n Once you know more, you\u2019ll know better, and so you can start doing better.<\/p>\n Instead of getting angry,<\/strong> <\/span>instead of fighting people, you\u2019ll realize that they don\u2019t know any better yet.<\/p>\n Engaging <\/span>in a fight makes everybody lose, not engaging<\/span> in a fight, makes the fight go away as you don\u2019t fuel anger, frustration, … anymore and then you have ground to come to a mutual solution. Because now you know better and you can act from a different place.<\/p>\n Love is our most powerful tool.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Instead of judging,<\/strong><\/span> you now see them on their path going forward at their own pace. They may not be where you are yet, but they are getting there. They\u2019ll learn, eventually, or maybe not.<\/p>\n That\u2019s okay too, that is their choice, their responsibility, that is their path.<\/p>\n The master appears when the student is ready<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n You can\u2019t force consciousness upon someone. They have to be ready to learn.<\/p>\n Instead of punishing and being harsh<\/strong>,<\/span> just show them another way, show them another possibility by living in a loving, peaceful, respectful way. By showing them there is another way, you can teach people what you know, just by living it, not by forcing it upon them, not by judging them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s up to them what they pick up and what they will start practicing.<\/p>\n \u201cBe the change you want to see in the world\u201d <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n says Mahatma Gandhi and that is my absolute favorite saying.<\/p>\n Getting angry because others don\u2019t do the things you would like them to do, leads to nothing. They are responsible for their actions, not you.<\/p>\n There are also so many ways of living a good life, it doesn\u2019t mean your way is the only way. As dr. Wayne W. Dyer said: \u2018This is my way, this your way. THE way does not exist.’<\/p>\n Transforming into the person you want to be, doing what you believe is the right thing to do, is what you need to focus on.<\/p>\n Life is a continuous path of learning.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We understand more and more as we grow older, we learn from our mistakes, and that is how you can become better instead of bitter<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s how we will all be able to live a \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n wiser,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n gentler,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n less judgmental,\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n more loving,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n more knowing life.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Once we know<\/strong> better, that\u2019s when we can start doing<\/strong> better.<\/span><\/p>\n My invitation to you all this week is:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n become silent,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n become conscious of your own thoughts and behavior,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n learn,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n grow,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n embrace your teachers,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n practice what you learn,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n and that is when you will start knowing, and doing, better.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Thank you all for reading me and for supporting me on Medium! If you want unlimited access to all of my articles and many other authors, you can become a Medium Member and you\u2019ll be supporting me, and all the other authors. Many, many thanks to you all!!!<\/p>\n Katrien<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the many wise sayings of Maya Angelou is: \u201cDo the best you can until you know better, Once you know better, do better.\u201d I find that a very powerful thought, not only for ourselves but also to be able to be more empathetic towards others. Because when we judge others for \u2018acting stupid\u2019, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifecoachwomen.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}