Walking in Their Skin

“First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
—Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

When you get frustrated at how someone is acting, try imagining walking around in their skin for a while. Sometimes they’ve gone through experiences you forget about. Other times they make honest mistakes, or speak out of ignorance. Perhaps what seems obvious to you isn’t so obvious to them.

If you appreciate it when others try to understand where you’re coming from, shouldn’t you be willing to do the same for them? Trying to understand isn’t the same as seeking to condone. But it can lead to greater levels of graciousness in how you assess, and relate to, others.