Emotional disconnect is the primary reason that sabotages relationships, leads to poor decisions and regrets, and prevents people from shifting and healing.
Many reasons lead to disconnection, but disagreement isn’t one of them.
We all come from different upbringings, value systems, and cultural backgrounds; disagreement is a feature. Not a bug.
The value of our unique perspective, understanding, and internalization is precisely why diverse human intelligences and points of view are celebrated, rather than suppressed and eliminated.
The real problem is that, collectively, we are losing the ability to stand in the shoes of people with whom we disagree.
Holding on to disconnection (as one's identity) and using it to gain power pushes all of us further apart.
The winning tradition (for example, relentlessly seeking to be right) isn’t just on the sports field, but also in those who can outlast the people they disagree with by holding onto grudges and resentment, as well as the loneliness (the two feed each other). Both come from over-emphasizing individualism and perceived personal gains.
But everyone loses in the end.
The natural bandwidth of human empathy stems from a tremendous amount of connection and nurture within a community, which we struggle to build in today's world.
