I realize the irony in what I’m about to type: Social media can be a really scary place. Chances are you’re reading this because you’ve found it on social media, so I’m aware how this all sounds. I have days, especially recently, when I open the apps and I’m instantly hit with a barrage of bad news and then hit again with divisiveness in the comment section. Even in my personal life, the last several years have created a divide in relationships. I know I’m not alone when I feel a little lost with how divided we all feel. I hate this feeling. But what do we do?
Don’t Stand on Issues, Walk with People
Enter my friend Carlos Whittaker. He’s a self-proclaimed “hope dealer” who has found a way to bring people together, people of different political parties, races, religions, to have really hard conversations. He frequently says, “I don’t stand on issues, I walk with people”.
While some are fighting on social media, he activated his platform to change people’s lives. Just last week, he and his Instagram community (his “Instafamilia”) raised more than $144,000 to help make dreams come true for total strangers.
In Carlos’ new book, How To Human, he talks extensively about how to embrace being fully human, and not just with ourselves, but in relationship with other humans. Honestly, this can feel like a real challenge in today’s world that often feels completely divided. But, Carlos shows us by example that it’s entirely possible to disagree with someone while maintaining a healthy relationship.
Getting Back On Course
We invited Carlos on our podcast this week to learn more about how we can be better at this human thing. One thing that really stuck out to me from our discussion is the analogy of 1 degree. Carlos describes a ship that is set only 1 degree off course, but over time, this seemingly small change can lead the ship off course by MILES. He says it’s the same way with people these days. Events of the past several years have set us as humans off course a bit and we need to get ourselves back on track.
So how do we make these humanity course corrections?
One of the first steps, Carlos says, is to be curious about other people. Truly learning about a person usually leads to the heart, and, often, what’s behind someone’s behavior is not “issue stuff” but, rather, “heart stuff.” Being curious enough to really get to know someone is a path to better understanding and relationships.
Another way to make a small shift with someone is to find something that you can root for together. Of all the people that donated to Carlos’ recent Instagram campaign, no one was worried about anyone’s religions or political beliefs, rather everyone was on board together at helping change a person’s life for the better.
We left our podcast discussion with some very practical advice on how to intentionally do this human thing a little bit better. Tune in to the podcast at one of the links below to hear all of Carlos’ inspiring stories.
