Fifty six ~ Warning Others

If we do something and it goes bad, we often don't do the same thing again.  That's foolish.  Being a joyful, upbeat person is the opposite of being a fool.  We see the good where it exists, and we also learn to judge the situation well enough to know when to avoid the bad.  We need to learn how to lovingly speak up to help others. 

There are times when we need to speak up and speak negatively about others.  If we know that something is bad or that a certain action can lead to something bad, we do need to speak out and warn them.  We need to tell others about people, places, things that can harm them. 

Since it is such a natural habit to say negative things about people, we find that we have to put in most of our effort to speak positively.  If we can think before we speak, we can be mindful of what we say.  Here are some things to think about before we speak...

• S - SURE - Make sure we saw it first hand, and that we really know what we are talking about.  This step helps us not start false rumors.
• P- POSITIVE - be positive that what we are warning the other person about is really harmful, not just our subjective opinion.
• E - EXPRESS - express our concern to the person whom we want to speak badly about.  Maybe they can correct what they did.  Maybe they have a good explanation for their actions.
• A - ACCURATE - Don't embellish or exaggerate what the person did.  Say it as it is.
• KI - KIND INTENT - Only speak up because we care about the well being of the person who we are warning.  If you speak up for revenge, you are only spreading negative information.
• N - NO OTHER WAY - try to find another way to help the person without having to lower yourself to negativity.
• G - GOOD RESULT -  sharing negative information with others should only be done to affect some positive and good result.  If the person warned will take unfair revenge or action on the person, then we shouldn't warn them.

These can be remembered by their letters - S.P.E.A.KI.N.G.  These 7 steps are our way of knowing when we need to judge another person and pass down the verdict to warn others.

1. If you are sharing this bookwork with a friend, then get your friend to test you to see if you can recall what SPEAKING stands for.  Otherwise, test yourself.
2. Before you say something negative about another person today, try and review the SPEAKING steps and see if it is really a worthwhile action.

This exercise can clarify those murky situations when we don't want to lower ourselves to speak negatively about others.  It may be a challenge to remember all seven, but practice helps. 

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform