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Respect Differences

The world would be a much better place, if only people would respect differences.

A true story…

A woman arrived at an imaging center for a diagnostic study. She was on crutches and wore a “cast shoe”, one designed for people with foot problems. Although her foot problem had recently improved, she was still living cautiously.

The receptionist was kind and accommodating. She brought the paperwork to the patient as the patient sat in the waiting room. This employee took the paperwork back to her workstation and entered the information. So the patient felt hopeful that the morning would go well.

Ten minutes later, Sonya invited the patient to the room where the study would be done.

Sonya required the patient to stand while she took the images, and she actually repositioned the patient without warning her first, pushing her from her good side. Losing her balance, the patient put her bad foot down suddenly on a hard floor with too much force and injured it again.

The patient tried to work with the facility to resolve the issue. However, she met communication roadblocks that forced her to obtain outside counsel.

Sonya didn’t respect the fact that the patient had a disability and her disrespect caused the patient unnecessary pain. Nor did the administration respect the patient’s efforts to work out the problems with the facility.

You can change the level of respect in the world around you!

The story above happened in the past week and is completely factual.

Don’t you think the world would be a much better place if we all—service providers, patients, politicians, and others– respected each other’s differences?

Parents, you determine how much respect for differences there will be in the future in our society. How you raise your child(ren) determines their views of others around them.

Parents, do you want to raise your children to respect others’ differences?

Stay calm and don’t overreact when you anyone’s actions annoy you. This includes your children, waiters and waitresses, teachers, or anyone else with whom you come in contact.
Determine the cause of the annoying actions and focus on problem-solving alternatives.
Model respect for others by respecting your kids first! Respect their preferences and allow them to think independently.
Discipline your children when necessary to teach them how to behave and treat others.
Remember this rule: give respect to get respect. Remember that you decided to have children, and your children didn’t decide to have parents; work to earn their respect!
Apologize when you make mistakes. A mature, respectful adult accepts responsibility and apologizes to whomever when (s)he makes mistakes. Saying you are sorry to your child or anyone else never undermines your authority and credibility. Instead, it shows integrity and builds trust.

Do you relearn how to respect others?

However, if you are an adult and behave like Sonya, you can retrain your brain and become respectful. In every situation in your life, you just need to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, asking yourself, “How would I want to be treated if I were that person?”

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If your child needed a diagnostic screening, would you want a medical provider to treat your child the way the patient above was? Probably not.

Sonya was probably under twenty-five years of age and the patient in the story was middle-aged. The patient had been raised to treat others with respect and wished Sonya had been, too.

Don’t you agree that the would function much better if everyone respected differences?