Behavior is Everywhere- Even in Checkers!

Once you open your eyes to behavior, you’ll see the impact everywhere.

It’s incredible how much behavior impacts our everyday lives without us consciously noticing it. Often times, we’ll intuitively understand other’s personalities without even realizing it. For example, have you ever seen two people enter into a situation and you intuitively knew it was going to end badly, before it had even begun?

This is the result of our personality traits and the way we interact with others. When we know what to look for, we can see it everywhere, even in a game of checkers.

To celebrate the 4th of July a member of our staff spent some time with her sister and niece. She is known for her patience, and her tendency to fully process the impact of a decision before making it. She sat down to play a game of checkers with her niece, who has very little patience and is highly competitive.

As you can imagine, the game didn’t go well.

Each time she would ponder her next move, her niece’s impatience grew. Her niece’s competitive streak was magnified as her opponent’s thoughtful moves edged her into the lead.Without insight into behavior, situations like this can be extremely frustrating. You might feel rushed and pressured, or restless and agitated from waiting. When you understand the deeper behavior behind these interactions it’s easier to get along with people who would otherwise bother you. How often do we get frustrated with people simply because their behavioral tendencies differ from ours? The key is to look beyond what they do and ask instead why they do it. This simple change in perspective improves the quality of relationships in your professional career and your personal life.