People will disagree with you - but that’s ok

People will disagree with you.

It may happen when you express that you want things to change, suggest things be done differently, share your opinion, or offer a new or unique idea.

It may happen when you decide to start your own business, change your career path, shake up the way things are done on your team, or make a major personal decision that’s not consistent with the status quo.

This type of disagreement is to be expected, and people will express disagreement for a number of reasons.

Their disagreement may come from a place of protection and genuine care. They support you but, based on their own beliefs, they encourage you to make a different decision.

They may disagree with you because you’re expressing an idea or an intention they want to experience themselves. Despite supporting you, it may be hard to voice that support because doing so brings up their own feelings of regret or disappointment.

Or, they may just fundamentally disagree with you and truly believe you’re making a huge mistake.

Try this:

If you encounter disagreement, remember that when people comment on the choices you make they do so through the lens of their own experience.

They view those choices based on events in their life, beliefs they hold, and experiences they’ve encountered that often have very little to do with you and have everything to do with them.

When you experience disapproval, it’s an opportunity to acknowledge that their reaction is a reflection of their experience - not necessarily what’s best for you.

There are many people who care about you who may unintentionally pass along their own fears in the form of advice.

That’s why it’s so easy for us to get confused when people we love or respect disapprove of our decisions.

When you’re met with disapproval, try to strip it of anything that’s not factual and do your best to look at it objectively.

If you plan to take advice, look for opportunities to seek it from someone who has done what you want to do.

Remember that whether it be approval or disapproval, we make the best decisions when we pass any information we receive through our own personal lens - and not through the lens of another’s experience.

We will always encounter people who disagree with us. But that’s ok.

Go have a great workday.