I was involved in an interesting conversation about “care” the other day. Have you ever said that someone doesn’t care about you?

That may or may not be true but you have to dig a bit further past the surface to find out.

Fill in the blank. My ____________ doesn’t care about me.

What you may find is that it’s less true than you think because you have left part of the declaration unstated. The deleted piece is this:

___________ doesn’t care for me in the way I want to be cared for, therefore they don’t care. Reminds me of a story . . .

I was hospitalized as a teenager with pneumonia. My mother came to visit me and decided that my toenails needed to be trimmed. It should be noted here that my mother never did anything gently. She proceeded to cut my nails as I lay there in my weakened state. It didn’t take but a couple of clips for her to cut down to the quick of my nail, to the point that all over the hospital you could hear my wail. In hindsight I can easily see my mother certainly cared about me, just not in the way I wanted to be cared for.

There is a lot of miscommunication about care because people aren’t communicating effectively enough. We have a tendency not to listen when the other person is describing their recipe for feeling cared about. We continue to ply our version of care and are upset when it’s not appreciated.

What makes you feel cared about? What about your partner/family member/friend/boss/co-worker? If you don’t know the answer to both of those questions, you need a “care” package.

The package includes two simple instructions:

1. Find out what makes you feel cared about and communicate it.
2. Find out what another’s care needs are and deliver.

You may come to the conclusion that someone doesn’t care for you in the way you want to be cared for. There are options at this point. You can communicate it and see if it can be rectified and, if not, you may choose to seek care elsewhere.

Think of it this way: All doctors provide care; it just may not be the type you’re looking for.

It’s hard to hit the target in a fog, so make an effort to clear the air. It’s a surefire way to find out if you or they really care.

All the best,

John

HOW HEALTHY CAN YOU BE?
LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF
STOP SMOKING FOREVER
SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT EVERY NIGHT
IMPROVE YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE
RELAX IN 2 MINUTES
VIRTUAL MASSAGE