This post is part of myΒ Book Club SeriesΒ where I share what Iβm reading with you. Iβm highlighting the βoh my god, youβve got to read this!β books. These are the ones that Iβve been recommending to clients, friends, and anyone Iβve spoken to while reading the book. I have even been known to buy extra copies and given them to people. These books are great.
Ok, this is not a referral to a book, but Alain de Botton is a prolific writer and I haven’t read his books. My preferred method is to listen to his talks. I love his voice, and I love to listen and enjoy it. His talks are so useful.
This is one of my favourite talks. It embraces our humanity, our imperfections, and sets them in the context of “that’s normal and so ok”. That good enough is enough.
And while his topic is about marriage, it applies to all of our relationships: friendships, to our colleagues, our partners.
And given the very tough times we have all been through, all of our relationships have been tested. And they need some care.
So take 22 mins to have a listen to this wise and funny man who will point you in a good direction.
Can’t see the video? Click here to go to YouTube
Some key highlights
- Love is a willingness to interpret other people’s behaviour in a positive light
- We are out to look for people who feel familiar
- The myth that a true loved one can guess what is in our minds (and I think we extend this to our colleagues too)
- Most of us teach when we are tired and frustrated
- To teach well, we need to be relaxed
- We need a culture where we can learn from each other
So let’s all practice a willingness to interpret other people’s behaviour in a positive light.