Reading from different scripts.

There's a device used in fiction to create tension and conflict between characters (which keeps readers turning pages). You give each of your characters a different script, and then make them think they're reading from the same one.

You might have a school principal calling a parent to tell them about their child's imminent expulsion.

The principal's script says: this child is a menace.

The parent's script says: this child is the highly gifted apple of my eye.

Imagine how the conversation might go?

As people, we do this all the time.

I'm reading from my script that's written based on my values, beliefs, life experiences, desires for the future.

You're reading from your script that's based on your values, beliefs, life experiences, desires for the future.

Sometimes, we're on the same page, with similar enough scripts that conversation flows.

Sometimes, we're reading from completely different scripts and the conversation is an exercise in feeling frustrated, unheard and misunderstood, like you're bashing your head against the proverbial brick wall.

So what to do?

We don't necessarily need to be reading from the same script, but it helps to understand that our scripts are different. And the quickest way to understand other people's scripts is the quickest way to understand anything: through asking questions.

It's also the quickest way to understand your own script, which is a useful exercise. What's important to you? What are you protecting? What are your values? What experiences have shaped how you view the world, how you relate to others? What does living well mean to you? What do you long for?

So that's your invitation today, if you feel like accepting it - spend some time thinking about the script you're reading from, and how it might be similar to or different from the scripts of others in your life.

What do you notice?