Some people live in a life that is either black or white. They are either having a “good” or a “bad” day. They are either the “winners” or “losers”. They expect either a “yes” or a “no” response. You are either their “friend” or “enemy”. They are either “happy” or “mad” at you.
It is true that it’s difficult to deal with these people, but the real battle is truly inside them. It is easier to label things at one extreme side. It is much harder to realise that life comes in all the shades of grey. Actually, it comes in hundreds of different shades of colours. And one situation or one person could be a mixture of a dozen colour shades.
Thinking within the box of black and white results in anxiety especially if the person can’t find the right label to give. It might even result in depression if he or she realises that the label they gave a situation or person too soon was not the right one. This is in addition to all the energy that gets wasted to prove a point is “right” or “wrong”.
Remove the ceiling you put on your mind and open your eyes and look at the situation as it is, without trying to label it. Don’t trust your first reaction, which is probably an extreme. Give yourself at least 10 minutes, come back to the situation, you will see more and more shades then.
Everything is possible with patience and persistence. Only if I was able to colour my parents black and white pictures to how they truly were in real life 40 years ago. Don’t wait 40 years look at things as they are now, today.
- The reader is an Emirati writer currently working as an Assistant Manager of Strategic Planning and Business Development at Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.
