Agree or Disagree?

During most conversations with family, friends, and co-workers, we want (and probably expect) that we’ll be agreed with. Sometimes, we’ll know up-front that we are in total disagreement over our positions, whether it be politics, food, restaurants, vacation sites, weather, etc.


Should knowing that we disagree on important (and maybe trivial) issues keep us from relationships and communication? I would hope not. Differences of opinion are vital— if only because it’s possible we might learn something. Remember also, that opinions are not necessarily the truth or a fact. They are often based on hearsay or a belief so strong that it is turned into a fact even if totally unprovable. How often do we come across this?


Since humans began to communicate with and to each other, they have had feelings and thoughts as basic as hunger, fear, and even elation over killing an animal for food. Our ancestors must have had many opinions about what was doable, possible, or inventive—like skinning animal skins to wear and help keep them warm.


So, a good disagreement may be an important step in learning something different or completely new. I experience this when I write. I may use a word that, upon re-reading, I feel is wrong for what I want to express—or the spelling is strange, yet the spell-check does not pick it up. So, I check both spelling and meaning. It’s amazing how often I learn something new.


The point here is to not let disagreements, regardless of the subject or issue, keep you from relationships and the possibility of dialogue. We humans have the built-in capacity to learn, to change and to GROW!
Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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