“I apologize, I was frustrated.”
The sentence above was an email I recently received from a former business associate.
First Lesson: A sincere apology is never followed by an excuse.
Second Lesson: Whether in our personal life or in business, sometimes things don’t go as planned or things may happen that get us rattled and upset. How you conduct yourself in these moments tells others a great deal about you as a person.
Third Lesson: Always assume you are on speakerphone and other people are privy to your conversation. This assumption may actually inhibit you from saying something you’ll regret.
Many times the root of relationship trouble is communication. If we aren’t good communicators, you can bet there will be trouble that will stem from this behavior. People tend to jump to inacurate conclusions because of poor communication and business dealings go downhill quickly. When there is good communication, there is little conflict.
If someone resorts to name calling when business dealings face challenges, it tells me about their character. Not only is it disrespectful, it’s extremely unprofessional.
How we conduct ourselves in our personal life spills over into our business relationships and vice versa. What you do is much louder than what you say. If you are the kind of person that has to walk around loudly proclaiming that you are a Christian, it makes me wonder why you are trying so hard to convince me. It’s much better for me to experience you being a Christian. When you are disrespectful toward me, it makes me wonder how you treat your family.
Sometimes we hang on because we want to help people. Pay close attention to the warning signs of disrespect and trust your instincts. It won’t get better. If you are dealing with someone that just isn’t working out because of some of these issues, you need to let them go and move on. The stress you are experiencing trying to make the relationship work isn’t worth it. Make the choice to remove the frustration from your life. If they’ve stooped low enough to call you names, it shows they have no respect for you. Let them go and be somebody else’s problem. When you do, you’ll feel a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders!