We were in one of those finish-everything- before-the-holidays meetings, pussyfooting about an accusation someone had made. Suddenly a colleague confessed, “My hands are clenched. My shoulders are tense.” He paused. “If I listen to my body, clearly I feel like I’m being attacked.” As he described his feelings, I recognized them in myself. Judging by their faces, so did the others.
In paying attention to our physical reactions, we realized what was going on. The criticism had hit hard, perhaps harder than intended. We shifted to a more direct conversation and came to a resolution.
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