How to deal with gossip or rumor?

How to deal with gossip or rumor?

How many times have they told us something about a person we know? Surely enough ... Even, how many times have we told a friend or relative something about another person? Many others ... Talking about the lives of others is quite common. Beyond whether it is adequate or not - we all know that it is not the best -, the intention that is put in this type of comment is fundamental to know what is intended with them.

However, what can we do when we hear a rumor? How to act before a gossip or criticism? Next, we will see it.

We are surrounded by criticism and rumors

Criticism, rumors and gossip are something so common in our day to day that they may go unnoticed many times among us, not because of their content but because they are emitted. There are even a large number of sayings that refer to such comments as:

“The gossip hears a small breeze and turns it into a cyclone”

“Sow a gossip and you will reap a harvest of sorrows”

“Not everyone repeats the gossip they hear, others improve them”

Thus, we cannot deny that criticism, rumors, and gossip, form a destructive group and that on many occasions, generate instant interest. Each of them is suffering distortions over time while traveling from mouth to mouth, most of the time having unthinkable consequences.

What can we do in these situations?

To explain how we can act, it occurs to me to tell you the Socrates dialogue, known as “The triple filter”:

“An acquaintance approached Socrates to tell him something about one of his friends, but Socrates before listening to him decided to take a small test, the triple filter test.

Socrátes decided to filter what that acquaintance was going to tell him about his friend through three different filters:

The truth filter

The filter of goodness

The utility filter.

To do this, he asked three questions related to each of the filters:

Are you absolutely sure that what you are going to tell me is true? (Truth filter)

Is what you're going to tell me about my friend a good thing? (Goodness filter)

Will, what you are going to tell me about my friend be useful to me? (Utility filter)

After the acquaintance admitted that he was not sure if what he was going to tell him was true, it was also not good and would not be useful, Socrates concluded that why tell him then? ”

In summary, a useful strategy to carry out in the face of gossip, criticism or rumor would be to apply this triple filter. Not only when we receive a comment, but also when telling it, we can put it into practice. Ahead!

"Habit is the most effective teacher."

-Plinio The Younger-