How would you describe people?

Some of you may be chuckling because you already know the punch line here…

But, humor me a minute…how would you describe people? As in, people in general? Generally, what are people like?

Seriously…take a minute to answer before you read on.

​I’ll give you a minute to think, and if you feel inspired, share what you come up with …I would LOVE, love, love to hear back.

…..

Ok, so “How would you describe people?” is one of my favorite interview questions.

Because, when we answer, we describe ourselves. Or, at least, we describe what we think about ourselves. ​

“But, wait – my Uncle Joe is super judgmental of everyone else but of course, he thinks very highly of himself.”

Hmmm… Do you really think so?

In my experience, a confident judgmental tone reflects a ruthless inner critic.

“What about the childhood friend that always seems to see the best in people but is incredibly hard on herself?”

Well, as poet Galway Kinnell writes, “sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.” Reflected in her description of other people is a knowing she already carries inside her.

It might be interesting to check out over the next few days how the description you gave about “people” is as true about you (or how you view yourself) as it is true about other people.

The world is full of a great diversity of personalities, experiences, and circumstances. It is easy to collect evidence of "how people are" for a great variety of answers to that question.

But we have actually a great deal of choice when it comes to which behaviors and events we give our attention to and how we relate to the things we notice.

So what is it that you choose to notice about yourself, and others…and what is the quality of the attention that you give?

Yours truly,

Marijke Ocean Joy