I agree, Rob.

The comment in Tongue-tied’s message—“I wasn’t sure exactly what to say to someone who clearly has no regard for the current situation.”—offers an opportunity to reinforce the importance of being aware of the stories we tell ourselves.

That statement sounds a bit judgmental and implies intention, but Tongue-tied may be making that assessment based on her/his own measuring stick. It’s similar to saying that a person who smokes clearly has no regard for her/his own health. People who have more knowledge of the science and facts about smoking’s detrimental health impacts may take that position and may even argue that with the abundance of public health information on the topic AND warning labels on cigarette packs themselves, the majority of people should know smoking is not a physically healthy practice. However, is that the case for everyone?

It might be hard to enter into this conversation if the story that I’m telling myself is that this other person has no regard for the current situation.

To be able to move into kindness – we still need to stop telling and believing the story we are telling ourselves.

Thanks Susan for sharing your perspective. I am the editor of the Crucial Skills Newsletter and wanted to respond. It is our opinion, based on research, that the sooner we can alleviate the effects of the virus the sooner our economies will recover and our future will be more secure in every aspect of life. We are certainly concerned about the economy as well. We hope that by speaking up and kindly encouraging people to follow social distancing rules, life can more quickly return to normal and threats can be alleviated. We feel speaking up is a solution too many of the challenges we are facing. Best of luck in the current crisis, it’s scary for all of us.

Susan, thank you for sharing your perspective. I’m having a hard time trying to understand and hoping you can help me. Are the folks who you were referring to that are as scared about their futures as other people are about the virus, not concerned about the virus? Are they concerned but have decided that the risk to themselves and others is worth it?