1 We are advised to love our enemies, but this is not possible when the inner enemy, our own shadow, is waiting to pounce and make the most of an incendiary situation. If we can learn to love the inner enemy, then there is a chance of loving — and redeeming — the outer one.

Robert A. Johnson - Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche. Harper San Francisco, 1991.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT OR DISCUSSION:
In what circumstances do I become an enemy to myself at work? What price do I pay when this happens? How can I make friends with myself in these situations?

2 By being true to the heart, we support and encourage our journey, our attempts to make sense of what we do, and how we do it, in all our [relationships]. When thinking about our most successful and worthwhile experiences in life, we find that they are the ones that were created in the spirit of love, with the voice of the heart.

Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch - Mentoring: The TAO of Giving and Receiving Wisdom. Harper San Francisco, 1995.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT OR DISCUSSION:
What has heart and meaning for me in my work?
How do I honor what is important to me in my everyday work?

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3 If we are willing to stand fully in our own shoes and never give up on ourselves, then we will be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and never give up on them.

Pema Chödrön - Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living. Shambhala, Boston, 1994.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT OR DISCUSSION:
How do I give up on myself at work? Do I stand behind my gifts and talents? My values? What are the results? How do I support and encourage others at work?

4 While we care deeply about other people's intentions toward us, we don't actually know what their intentions are. We can't. Other people's intentions exist only in their hearts and minds. They are invisible to us. However real and right our assumptions about other people's intentions may seem to us, they are often incomplete or just plain wrong.

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen of The Harvard Negotiation Project in Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT OR DISCUSSION:
What assumptions have I made about the people with whom I work? Which assumptions have I checked directly with the people about whom I have made them? On which unchecked assumptions have I acted? Are my desires to feel right and justified more important than my connections with others? If so, what impact is this having on me, on those around me, on our work together?

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