🎨 One Model to Help You Improve Your (Corporate) Relationships

At a Glance:

• The iceberg theory
• How it impacts your life and the world around you
• Pro tip to level up your life in every aspect

As they say, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

It’s scary, but true.

But how come? Why does that happen?

Brains are like fingerprints – there are no two identical brains. Every person has shaped their brain differently, based on their experiences, emotions, and thoughts.

Thinking about it this way - everything is possible.

A great way of explaining this is through the iceberg theory.

In reality, what we see above sea level are just the results and behaviors.We see what someone did, said, or how they acted.The same applies to us – we show only those things to others.We express ourselves through words and behaviors, and others interpret what they see.

‘Interpret’ is the key word here.

There is no one objective truth, no single correct interpretation.

Two Ways to Use the Iceberg Theory:

Increase Your Own Self-Awareness

Find a way to pause and reflect on your behaviors. How?

• Understand your emotions. Pause and identify what you feel.
• Go deeper and discover the thought that caused that emotion.
• How has that thought shaped your identity?
• How is it impacting you and your life?

Increase Awareness of Other People’s Behaviors

If you pause to consider why people might be behaving in a certain way, you’ll find it helpful in managing your own reactions.

• Recognize your emotions and thoughts triggered by others’ behavior.
• Then, think about why they might have behaved this way.
• What thoughts or emotions of their own could have caused this behavior?

You can also reverse-engineer this approach.Before acting in a certain way, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about how they might react when you say something.

Knowing or anticipating this can help you find a better way to approach them.

Homework for You

Try applying this in two situations:

1. To understand yourself better.
2. To approach another person after considering what they might feel or think.