My momma taught me to treat others the way I want to be treated, and I find this is easy to do when things are going well. But when I’m upset, the story plays out differently.  My stress behaviors come out, and I react to situations rather than respond to them – the result of which is often unfortunate.

I don’t think I’m alone on this one.  For the most part, I believe we all have good social skills when we’re happy and all is going according to plan.  But when life gets challenging, not only do we lose our minds, but so too do we lose our social graces. 

The only behaviors we truly have control over are our own. And by working to improve our own reactions and responses to different situations, we increase the likelihood we have better outcomes when interacting with others, specifically, individuals who themselves are feeling stressed.  Yes, I know – this is easy to understand, but difficult to practice.

In his award-winning book Robert Fulghum taught me “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  The question is, “Am I able to practice these skills at the times when they are needed the most?”  With the launch of a new school year, combined with all the other real-world issues we are dealing with, let’s hope the answer is a resounding “yes” for us all.