Learn to live in the gray. That’s where you’ll thrive
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By
Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, Author, Corporate Trainer, Business Mentor, Consultant at Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, LLC
I tend to think of myself as a black or white type of person. It’s either yes or no, or I want to do it or I don’t. I’m in or I’m out. I like it or I don’t. The truth is, however, there is something to be said for living in the gray, or the middle, sometimes.
This is particularly true when it comes to people and situations that we don’t understand. Generally speaking, people are not usually completely good or completely bad, or totally right or totally wrong. I know that it’s in our nature to try and make sense of our environments. We tend to judge others based on our own preconceived notions and biases which may or may not be correct (often not).
Whatever we deem to be true about a situation is likely gray as well. Again, we tend to look at things from our own perspective. In reality, however, most things that happen to us really have nothing to do with us at all. Many times, they are a personal or business decision and have more to do with the person making the choice or the bottom line rather than us.
So embrace the gray. The gray is where most of us live and where everything happens. It’s usually not as good or bad or as concrete as we think. People are a mix of all things, positive and negative. That’s what makes them interesting and keeps us guessing. Situations are the same way. There are so many factors that go into every choice or scenario. We can not possibly be aware of them all particularly, when we are not the ones in control which is often the case.
So, it’s time to do away with black and white thinking in many situations. Embrace the gray. Ask questions when you don’t understand and never stress about those things or people that are out of your control. Learn to step outside of the black and white.
Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, Author, Corporate Trainer, Business Mentor, Consultant at Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, LLC
Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD is an entrepreneurship coach, consultant, business mentor, corporate trainer (Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, LLC) and author of Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur (McGraw Hill). She is also the host of Launch, a TV show which streams on Amazon Fire, AppleTV and Roku (D B TV), and an expert on Quora’s Business, Education and Society spaces. Additionally, Charlene teaches business and entrepreneurship courses at UCONN and the University of Alaska, was selected as one of 150 Marketers to Follow by Rubicly, and is featured among other CEOs, influencers and celebrities on the BAM Network.
