If you’d like to see some vivid examples of relational wisdom, be sure to see Disney’s latest release, McFarland, U.S.A. The movie is based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a predominantly Mexican-American high school in McFarland, California. Kevin...
Fear usually triggers one of three reactions: control, anger or withdrawal (the latter two actually being forms of the first). This is a key insight for improving both your self-awareness and your other-awareness: whenever you encounter control, anger, or withdrawal,...
One of the many joys I had last year was seeing my 20-year-old son teaching relational wisdom to business managers and top high school students. RW in the Workplace In November, Jeff and I flew to California, where we had the privilege of presenting a Discovering RW...
My daughter was sitting on the floor in my study crying softly. Megan had been sharing a sad story with me, and her emotions overflowed in tears. Her two-year-old son, Andrew, was playing in his room nearby. When he heard his mother crying, he pulled some tissues from...
I’ve seen a lot of foolish behavior during my thirty-two years as a professional conciliator. Like the man who divorced his lovely Christian wife to marry a woman who had already been married and divorced six times. When I asked him whether he saw a pattern in her...
Jessica Long was born in Siberia … without legs. Left at a grim orphanage as a baby, she’s gone on to win twelve gold medals. I’d give her a thirteenth, in relational wisdom. Born as Tatiana Kirillovain 1992, Jessica was placed in an orphanage because of her birth...
Do people feel relationally safe in your home? Your church? Your school? Your business? Is it the place they long to come to when the problems of the world seem overwhelming? Is it a haven of understanding, acceptance, and security? It can be. By God’s grace, your...
Children often demonstrate far more relational wisdom than adults. Simply compare the bullying scandal in the Miami Dolphins locker room with the remarkable sensitivity shown to a learning-disabled teen by the Olivet Eagles, a middle school football team from Olivet,...
Cindy and Alicia, both seventeen, walked out of the mall after a fun afternoon of shopping. Just as they reached Cindy’s car in the parking lot, two young men drove by on motorcycles. One of them knew Cindy from school, so they stopped to talk. After a few minutes of...
Today’s movie clip is one of my favorites. It illustrates several key relational skills, including empathy, self-control, and the use of perceptive questions rather than forceful arguments. The clip is taken from the movie, Spanglish. Its central character, Flor, is a...