Self-awareness and political correctness go hand in hand because a major part of being comfortable with yourself is treating others with kindness and compassion. It’s really difficult to be genuinely happy when you’re stepping on someone. The way you feel about yourself deep inside is reflected in how you perceive and interact with others. When you live a life of introspection, openness, flexibility and balance, you welcome other perspectives without feeling threatened. Here are some ideas to move past struggling with political correctness:
- Be happy with yourself so you can treat others positively.
- Get to know yourself well so you can get to know others.
- Look beyond your own immediate needs.
- Practice empathy and kindness.
- Consider other points of view without feeling attacked.
- Let go of the need to control or dominate others.
It takes conscious and deliberate effort to think of others and behave in a kind, empathic, respectful way. The key to living a fulfilling life is to be so happy about who you are that you do everything in your power not to hurt other people. What will you do to increase your self-awareness to treat yourself and others well?
Cheers,
Guy
Thanks for sharing this idea, Guy… When I think of political correctness, I often think of a “fake” kind of niceness that is more about avoidance than engagement.
Certainly, we all have an obligation to treat others with respect; ideally we would all be willing to have others “call us out” when our words/behavior fall short of that ideal and to adjust our conduct appropriately.
Having a “politically correct” approach may help us reducing the amount of hurt we cause to others, but I feel that term implies that we are just following a script, without really digging deeper.
Thus, as someone seeking to develop self-awareness, I’d want to build from “political correctness” to an active process of learning about others’ experiences, developing empathy, and critiquing the larger issues that create inequality in our society.
What do you think?
Thank you for your insights Sodium. I’ve found it helpful to think of political correctness as a measure of how happy I am with myself. The happier, more balanced and authentic I feel, the more likely I am to get along with others, even when I’m asserting my own views. When I’m comfortable with myself, I’m open to learning about others and connecting on a deeper level regardless of the situation. I really like your idea of having enough self-awareness to learn about others, point out the inequalities in society and develop empathy. Perhaps we could say that the essence of political correctness is treating others sincerely well. Take care, Guy.