Absolutes alienate

When we speak in absolutes, we artificially limit our experience because we assume others know what we mean.

Many people make it difficult for others to fully understand their experience, position, or point because they assume the other person sees the world in the same way.

Absolutes are over-generalizations such as “no one,” “never,” “always,” “all,” etc.

When someone uses an absolute, such as “Antwan is always rude,” you can challenge it simply with the tone of your voice. “He’s always rude, every time?”

Exercise

To help eliminate absolutes from your vocabulary, rewrite these sentences:

I can never win: ______________

Why am I always the last one to know? _________________

Everyone at that meeting thought I was an idiot: ________________________