This is Part of the Ongoing Series 'Changing Mindset'
Understanding
Understanding others is probably one of the most important things on can achieve - i use the word achieve for the reason
it is not something you do but rather something you have to work for.Once you understand something or someone, once you know what someone strives for, fears, wants, needs, you can help them - in short,
it is the basis for all effective communication.Just to give you one example, i always knew understanding was important. but there is a big difference between understanding and knowing something. When i really understood, when it hit me, i was at the airport in bangkok, i had just got off my plane and was looking for a cab to take me to my hotel.
the only driver in sight was doing a strange gesture - arm stretched in front of them,
palms facing down and waving frantically with their hands. as a westerner, or more precisely a german, i took this gesture as
'go away', subsequently i thought 'how rude, i guess i will not take his cab.'
it took me a minute to find out every driver did that... when i saw other passengers get on the cabs, it took me another 2 seconds to suddenly feel very stupid, embarassed and arrogant - but i understood now: their gesture meant the same as the one we would perform with our
palms facing up, meaning:
'come hither, take my cab, friend'. I took a ride with the next smiling driver i found.
Understanding those little things is of vital importance in our globalized world....unfortunately, you can not really learn this from reading lonely planet ;-) you need to experience it for yourself.
Please share, what are moments in your life that really made you understand?
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