Is my way really that bad?

Do you dish out punishments or rewards to those around you? I have been taking a closer look at my interactions with those around me for the past few days and I was so surprised to see how often I unconsciously punish or reward someone for their actions. On the flip side I was able to see how often I was punished or rewarded by others. What effect does that have one me? I think there are different effects on me when I am the one giving the punishments or rewards verses when I am the one getting them.

I have seen that when I am the one giving the punishment or reward it is usually out of pride. I know that sounds bad, but it true. When I am looking to punish someone for doing something I don’t agree with it seems to stem from the pride within me that my thoughts or beliefs are more correct than theirs and that they should do things the way I think they should be done. On the other hand, when I reward someone for something I liked that they did it was out of that same pride. I like people to do what I would do and sometimes have a hard time seeing things from another person’s perspective.

I think we all unconsciously or consciously punish and reward people every day. We need to be careful what kind of messages we send to people when we do that. I have decided this week to try my best to look at things from others perspectives and not always think things have to be done my way. I have a commitment for myself and anyone that reads this. Tomorrow I am going to try to write down every time I notice that I am consciously or unconsciously punishing or rewarding someone and then for the rest of the week try to be do it at least 10% less every day. I’m not sure how well this will work, but I will let you know.