This is my third post about Danny’s promotion. Here’s the story again:
The boss comes to Danny’s desk with great news: Danny got the promotion. The workers around Danny overhear and react. Henry is happy, Sally is sad, Anna is angry, Frank is afraid, and Nick feels nothing at all.
Last post I described how we “see” things, meaning, how we instantly tell ourselves what is happening and how good or bad it is. It’s not just physical sight, but the meanings we draw from what we see. It’s what we mean when we say, “I call it the way I see it.”
Think about how each person not only saw the situation itself, but what that situation meant for them. For Henry, it meant an opportunity for Danny’s job. For Sally, it meant losing a friend. For Anna, it meant suffering an injustice. For Frank, it meant his job was in jeopardy. And for Nick it meant nothing at all. That day at Danny’s desk, people weren’t just viewing a promotion. They were viewing four other things as well.
The situation wasn’t what moved these workers. It was the meaning they instantly attributed to the situation. This is why the Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote, “Men are not moved by things, but the views which they take of things.” The workers emotions were triggered by the way they “saw” the situation, not the situation itself.
Which reveals the secret of our power: our ability to choose our view.