Choose Collaboration, Not Conflict. Build Walls, Not Bridges
Everyday we see and interact with people who see the world in a different way than us. This is because people come from various cultures, they have different political views, and they have different ways of solving problems beyond what we expect. More often than not, when people meet others that their ideas do not match their own, they stand at a crossroad. Some may even try to oppose them or start up what would lead to conflict. But it is at this point that you should bring in collaboration. Do not build walls, learn to build bridges.
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It is true that it may be very easy to build walls. In fact, it can happen automatically when you become defensive, when you judge others, or when you insist that your own methods are the best. Walls may make you safe for a while, but in the long run, you will discover that you have locked yourself in. This is because it will stop you from learning from others, from growing, and from working together. But building bridges may require some efforts. Like it will require active listening, understanding people, and being willing to accommodate their differences. These things may not be easy at the initial, but in the long run, you will discover that they are actually the right things. Building walls can lead one to loneliness, but building bridges leads to collaboration, success, and greater achievements.
In life, and in your journey to your destination, you have to choose connection. Choosing connection does not mean that you are to agree with everything that the other person has said. It simply means that you should respect their right to be different. Moreover, there is still a way to listen to them, and even welcome their opinion without necessarily agreeing to the opinion. You do not have to try to change them or make them to see things from your own perspective, you simply have to understand them, and you will see how amazing things will happen.
Imagine in a football team. If every player only knows how to play goalkeeper. Or maybe the coach assembles a team of world class goalkeepers, they will lose in a way they never expect. For a team to win, they would need goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, attackers, strikers, etc. Each player will have a different role to play, and each of them with their own skills. It is through their differences, and by working together towards the same goal that they will win the match. This same principle applies in other aspects of life, including in the schools, workplaces, and even within the community. I have come to realise that in order to solve problems better, you will need different minds.
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When you accommodate people's differences and their various points of view, you will turn what would have been a potential argument into moments of growth. I remember what happened in the place where I did my internship sometimes ago. We were given a group project, and our team was a group of 5 people. One of them was very slow but very careful, while one of them was very fast and quick. At first, the one who was fast was very angry at the one who was slow. He complained that he was drawing the whole team backwards. However, a bridge-builder in our team realised that it was the one who was seen as slow that was saving the entire group from mistakes. So they had to combine his carefulness with the speed of the other person, and we became a better team.
You have to understand that everyone cannot be like you. So do not expect them to act, think, or speak like you. What you have to focus on is how to learn from the way the other person sees things. This will help you to shift your focus from stereotypes, and open the door to more innovation. That is, you stop looking at who is right, and start focusing on how to work together as a group and achieve something better. After all, you are not in a race or a competition with people, so do not act like you are. You are meant to complement each other, not compete against them.
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