Moccasins

I think the basis of much interpersonal frustration is that we don’t truly understand what the other person is going through. Sure, we love to say things like “I know how you feel” and “I feel your pain”, but we really don’t.

I just heard of an industrial designer who literally turned herself into an old lady in order to understand – first hand – how hard it is to open doors with arthritic hands, read warning signs with Coke-bottle vision, and so on. Scientists force students to perform similar tasks in “Moccasin projects”, as in walking a mile in somebody else’s.

I also heard (I hear so much) about a consultant who asked all his new clients “How would you prefer to be treated?” It’s such a simple question, but a baffling one. Maybe the person you’re trying to impress with fancy meals is just interested in a quick deal, or the lowest price. Imagine if we started making that effort to actually check with our fellow humans what sort of moccasins they have on at the moment, instead of deciding all on our own that they are probably just like ours?