Get Close

Around this time of year we are often reminded of those amazing stories of German and British troops during the WWI conflict leaving their respective trenches on Christmas Day and sharing a cigarette, and singing a few carols together. And of course realising they were not so different to each other after all.

It's a good general strategy: get close to remove conflict. Go talk to that team leader who is making your Life hell. Hang out a bit more with your 'difficult' teenage daughter. Ring and have a long chat with the bloke who delivers your logs. The more distance: both time and space you put in, the easier it is to see them as 'the enemy'. On the other hand, it's really difficult to maintain the energy of animosity with someone who is genuinely attempting to get closer, who is seeking to understand. Get closer.

It's a marketable skill, too.