Lately, I’ve been listening to Simon Sinek, a British-born American author and inspirational speaker. On The Diary Of A CEO podcast. He talked about a concept called sitting in the mud. It was the first time I heard of the phrase, but it wasn’t the first time I practiced it. Before I continue with my thoughts, I want to briefly explain what the phrase means.
Sit in the mud with somebody…? Like literally?
Yeah…like literally! Imagine sitting in the mud with somebody. You’re all wet, messy, and dirty…probably smelly too. You might even put some mud on each other, but that’s kind of what the saying means. It’s being with somebody whose really struggling and sharing in their struggle. It’s not necessary to understand what they are going through or to try to fix their problems. It’s just being present and there.
But I want them to be clean!
Whenever a friend comes to me with a problem, I always try my best to just listen; however, I often end up offering advice because I want to help solve their problem. While my intentions were good, trying to solve a person’s problems may not always be what the other person wants or the best way to help. Sometimes it can feel better to know that somebody else understands what is going through.
Making this blog to also be where we can sit in the mud…
It’s weird to say this because I’m not exactly sitting with you and listening to you. But my thought is that I want this blog to share more stories or struggles without trying to tell some sort of advice or tip. I admit that there are times where it felt forced to put pieces of advice in posts that I share my struggles. My hope is to share in a way that tells you “hey you’re not alone”.
If you have a chance to comfort a friend whose going through some hard times, try and apply this concept. I feel like it’s an absolute privilege and honor to be able to do that with some of my friends. It shows a great sign of trust between my friend and I and gives us the chance to deepen our friendship.
