Recently in a furniture store, I observed a sales-clerk (Let’s call him
Harry) and a customer (Lets call her Lisa) entangled in a vicious verbal sparring
match over a lamp Lisa had purchased.
“Maybe it didn’t happen in the store” Harry said.
“Of course it did. When I went home I opened the box. That’s when I discovered the lamp was cracked,” Lisa responded.“The sign says, ‘all sales final... You must ask an associate to open the box so you may examine the item – before – buying.” Harry snapped back, before adding the final nail, “Did you do that, ma’am?”
“Er, uh, awm”
“Right. My point exactly.” Harry slammed her with.
I won’t even bother telling you what else occurred. I am sure you can figure it out. I’ll say this though. From the looks of things – it wasn’t pretty. Simply put, Harry refused neither to take back the lamp nor to exchange it. It’s safe to say that the other customers observing this scenario, from their various vantage points in the store, also knew Harry had the upper hand.
But this begs several questions, with one being: “Will this store get repeat customers?” The way I saw it, I would say “probably not.” Standing in Harry’s shoes, I could see how Harry believed Lisa was “wrong,” and he was “right;” Lisa didn’t follow store protocol, and as such she was…out of luck. But looking at the same situation from Lisa’s point of view, she, too, was “right” and Harry was “wrong.” (What does one do when they’ve reached a point like this? Hmmm) ‘Why couldn’t he just do the right thing (according to me, that is); appease her so she could turn her into a happy and loyal customer? What’s the big deal?’ I asked myself.
The scenario would’ve gone something like this if I were Harry:
LISA
“When I went home I opened the box. That’s when I discovered the lamp was cracked.”ME
“Even though we have sign posted, instructing the customers to have an in-store associate open these packages so can inspect it before purchasing, we understand that some people, such as yourself, for whatever reason, might miss the opportunity of the in-store inspection. I am happy to exchange the lamp for you, or I can give you an in-store credit plus a few additional coupons? (Deliberate use of question mark).”
• See it my way.
• We just don’t see things eye to eye.
• We aren’t speaking the same language.
• Don’t judge a person until you have walked in their shoes.
• Look at it this way.
• Are we on the same page?
• Think how others would experience it.
• If I were so and so…
• What would others think about it
• ETC…The list goes on.
Using your Perceptual Position powers allows you to gather data from multiple points of views in-time, through time and in-between times (of what? You might ask). You will be in a better position, so to speak, to act and to make decisions – happen. There are infinite amounts of Perceptual Positions you can sink into and experience, and its application is limitless; it all depends on your creativity. But, for now, the four most popular are:
• SELF (i.e. Lisa’s perspective)
• OTHER (i.e. Harry’s perspective)
• OBSERVER (i.e. Store patron’s perspective)
• WE (simultaneously seeing – everything, Self, Other, Observer as one event)
Examine where in your social, personal, and/or professional lives you can now begin to use this ability to enhance the quality of your life – or lives.
© Copyright - John G. Johnson
2007 - All rights reserved!
By: John G. Johnson
Ask most people the question “what are you good at?” and the probability is high that you’ll first get the eye-roll, followed up with the auditory response, “awm, hmm,” etc. You might even get that long pensive look, first, the classic frowning, second, then the statement: “Let’s see,” third. Be patient and you’ll get one of the two heavy-hitter responses to your question, coming in the form of “I don’t know” or them telling you what they – “aren’t" good at.” I have always found these reactions intriguing.
Why do most people dodge that question? Do they respond in that manner simply because they don’t know (aka haven’t uncovered – yet) what they are good at? Or do they think it is impolite to speak the truth. On the contrary, it is perfectly fine to own your power; it is alright to let others – including yourself – know where your talents reside, where your intensities are.
If you or someone you know can relate to the above then I have news for you…You are wrong to think that you haven’t a clue as to where your strength(s) and/or talent(s) are rooted. They have always been there, waiting to burst forth; you need to give it/them a chance.
You can start this process of Uncovering Your Power by first paying attention to them. It’s easy to do.
Here are the steps:
1= Find a comfortable place to sit and relax.
2=Write down all of your activities that you do over a two-week period.
3=Write down all activities you’ve done that were NOT a part of this two
week period (activities you have done in the past)
4=Get two sheets of paper and label one as Pleasure and the other as
Pain
5= Take all that you’ve written in step two and place
them in their appropriate category (step 4).
** It’s fine if you’re unsure what category to
place some of your activities. At the end of the process you’ll know where
to place those.
6= Now that you’re done making both lists, PAY ATTENTION
to the Pleasure list.
7= Now comes the fun part ;-): For each action you listed:
(A)= Re-experience them one at a time; see what you saw, hear
what you heard, feel, what you felt, smell what you smelled – be in the
moment. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR EMOTIONS.
(B)= Write down the reason(s) you love each action; what is
inherent in each activity that gives you pleasure.
As I stated before, it’s important you get a hold of the emotions you are experiencing in each of the actions you investigated. Despite what so-called experts would have you believe, logic does not propel you. Emotions do. It can be one or a series of them. Emotions act as magnets, meaning they pull and push you in the direction you choose to move. How many times have you done something when you know “logically” you shouldn’t…”It just feels good, or right,” you say….
Doing an activity - while – you are in a pleasurable state opens up pathways and opportunities you never thought possible. It’s up to you to exploit them. For example, ever wonder how an artist passionate about what they are doing seems to just better themselves with each new creation? You can say, “Oh, that’s just talent, just luck.” That may be true. But talent gets you only so far. Could it also be that this person is taking advantage of the opportunities he/she has access to – just because he/she has owned his/her power, and is in a pleasurable state when working?
Finally, do some soul searching. Ask yourself whether if some of these actions
are worth paying attention to; are they worth investigating so as to make your
time and life have more meaning, more joy, and a higher purpose. Uncovering
Your Power is about living the life you deserve to its utmost, refusing to apologize
for what brings meaning to your life. At the end of it all wouldn’t you
want to look back and feel satisfied that you were incredible; you gave it your
all …and then some?