Why you need to understand people

All of us have come across various people from all walks of life. We interact with them and work with them in our daily life whether you like it or not. They will come with different personality and behaviour characteristics. Some are sweet, some are difficult, some demanding, some are helpful, some are unreasonable and some are pleasant. And the list goes on.

In order to get through our day with our sanity intact, we need to understand people, their personality and why they are who they are. When you understand why people respond as they do, it is often easier to be patient with them rather than becoming exasperated.

For example, Michael likes to focus one thing at a time. Having understood this will encourage you not to interrupt him unless necessary and to be less upset if he is impatient with you when you interrupt him.

At the same time, knowing how you come across to others may help you moderate your behaviour. For instance, just by understanding that you are a higher risk taker than others, it should help you understand that their negative respond is not personal but coming from their aversion to undertake additional risks. You may need to get your ideas clearly laid out and explain why the risks can be managed.

Taking the effort to understand others makes our life easier, be it working life, social life and personal life. Equally, understanding how others perceived us goes a long way to help us help others understand us better and eventually makes our life journey a smoother one.