If you want to be successful in the workplace, in your business, on your team, in your department, at home, in your ministry, in your organization etc, you need to understand people. If people can take their time to understand others, many problems can be avoided.
Understanding others gives you the energy to relate well with people. If you can learn to understand what inspires people, how they feel, how they think, how they act and react in any given situation, you will be in a better situation to motivate, inspire and influence their lives.
What is it that you need to know to understand other people? If you want to understand people, you need to know the following truths about people:
1. People are unique
Every individual is unique regardless of the background, colour, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, academic and socioeconomic status. This is the fundamental thing that you
need to understand about people.
People have unique talents lying dormant within them. Don't judge a person on the basis of his or her appearance. Look at the person as a special being made in the image of God.
2. People need to be accepted, appreciated and loved
You need to understand that people have an innate need to be accepted, appreciated, and loved. They need to feel accepted, appreciated and loved. If you can understand this you will understand why people feel the way they feel, think the way they think, act the way they act. When people feel loved, accepted and appreciated, their self-esteem goes high and their confidence skyrockets.
3. People have a need to belong
No one can live in isolation. People are social beings, they have a need to belong to a family, a team, division, department or an organization. People feel so terrible and devastated when they are rejected by those close to them. When they are in a problem, they need a strong support system in the form of a family, friends, teammates, church mates etc.
People get motivated when someone believes in them.If you can learn to understand that people need to belong somewhere, you will know how to encourage them.
4. People need to be understood
It is important to understand that people have an innate need to be understood. People tend to enjoy the company of those who understand them. When someone feels understood, he or she feels normal as a human being. But when they feel that they are not understood, they feel upset, hurt, and frustrated.
Having a need to feel understood in this regard, means that people want others to get a clear picture of who they are, what they are, how they feel, what they think , what they do and why they do what they do. They feel validated when others understand them. They don't want to be judged and be treated like nobodies, they just want to be understood.
5. People need to be listened to
Everybody has a need to be listened to. They want to be given a space to have their voice heard. They need to be given a chance to express themselves without being prejudiced and discriminated against.
It is very painful when you talk to somebody who is not willing to hear the side of your story. It is also painful when you try to talk and somebody goes ahead of you without listening to the message you honestly intend putting across.
The most painful thing is to be misunderstood by someone on the basis of his or her failure to listen properly. If you want to understand people, you need to listen attentively to what they say before you say what you want to say.
6. People want to be somebody
Every person in this life wants to be something of significance. people want to feel respected and valued, that is why they want to achieve something of value. They feel the sense of achievement when they have reached a goal of becoming what they dreamt of.
There is a sense of being somebody important within every person. When people achieve what they feel inside, they feel they are contributing something of worth to their generation. As a result, they feel important and much alive.
If you can understand that people want to be somebody of significance, you will make a quality decision to get along with them in a good fashion.
7. People need to be encouraged
People go through serious challenges in the different aspects of their lives. They find themselves in hostile situations and they get discouraged, hurt, devastated, and upset. When they find themselves in such situations, they need to be encouraged to have hope and courage to go on until they overcome.
People respond positively to encouragement. They need to be encouraged to focus on their dreams and goals. When you understand that people need to be encouraged, you will begin to encourage others who need an emotional support.
8. People need to be treated with care and respect
Everybody has a need to be treated like a normal human being. People have feelings and they need others to respect them. Respect means that you consider people's feelings, views, opinions, affiliations, beliefs, dreams, and aspirations. Leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Have a caring attitude towards people and they will feel cared for and important.
Don't treat people like they amount to nothing. Treat them with respect and care. Thomas Caryle said, "A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men." Respect people not on the basis of their socioeconomic status or their academic status, but respect them on the basis of the fact that they are human beings created after God's likeness.
Conclusion
Make a quality decision to understand people. If you already understand people, you can improve on your ability to inspire, motivate and influence others. You can make a difference in your relationship with people if you can take your time to understand the precious and special beings called people.
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