Platinum Rule

The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  This rule should be pretty easy to follow.  After all, most of us probably have a pretty good idea of how we want to be treated.  Although I know that sometimes it is difficult to be as considerate of other people as we are of ourselves.

However, the Platinum Rule is a little different.  I learned the Platinum Rule from an instructor when I went to some training a few years ago: “Treat others as THEY want to be treated.”  Obviously, this is going to take more work.  First, you have to figure out how the other person wants to be treated.  This may not be intuitive, and it may be in direct contrast to how we ourselves want to be treated, but in the long run it will be worth the effort.  It shows the person that you genuinely care about them, and that you are willing to take the time to learn about them.

Last year I read a book called The Five Love Languages.  The author, Gary Chapman, postulates that there are five major love languages (and as many dialects in those languages as there are people in the world).  When you are in a relationship, he recommends watching what your relationship partner (regardless of the type of relationship) does to express care and loving for you to determine what your partners love language.  The same applies to the Platinum Rule.  One of the best ways to learn how someone wants to be treated is to note how they treat you … that person is following the Golden Rule.  They might even be following it unconsciously.  That’s because it is so much easier to follow the Golden Rule.

Quote for today:
"We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give."

– Winston Churchill

Until tomorrow…

P.S.  Obviously I did not post this in the morning; stayed up too late and couldn’t get up.  I need to actually follow through on my resolution to get enough sleep five nights a week by giving myself a bedtime (10:30 pm Sunday through Thursday because I can’t sleep in Monday through Friday).