Respecting and Understanding the Human Condition

These days we value individualism over the good of society. It's easy to validate any opinions we have or even come up with from thin air. However, one of my core tenets of success is having respect and understanding for others.

As a disabled person, it's easy for me to develop a narrative that other people have things in their life that I don't have. In some instances, this is true. However, it's not one hundred percent accurate. One skill I use to cope with my disability is to really try to understand the human condition. I have respect for almost everybody—for successful people, what they do, and what most people won't do.

I honestly have respect for people and their challenges.

I respect the cashier who is on their feet for eight hours a day and the people who are just putting in an honest day's work, getting by. I respect parents who do everything to make their child's life better and people who are genuinely good. I respect everybody who makes my life possible and people who are struggling with challenges I don't understand.

I also respect people who have achieved success—not only for what they have, but how they got there. The entrepreneur who works countless hours. The business traveler who has one too many hotel hamburgers. The parents who use Door Dash just so their kids can go on a school trip.

Respecting and understanding the human condition is one of the most powerful practices you can develop. It gives you empathy and motivation to achieve your own goals. For me, it provides a way to get out of my own head and challenges me to be the best version of myself. When you truly see and appreciate what others navigate daily, you develop both gratitude for your own path and inspiration to walk it with purpose.