THE THREE CHAIRS
Exercise To Understand Situations Better
Sometimes it can feel like things aren’t fair and other people are saying and doing things that we don’t agree with. It is very easy to get upset by this. THE THREE CHAIRS is a useful exercise to help us to understand situations betterso we can feel better about them.
Think of a situation you have been in recently where something didn’t go your way, or that you thought was unfair. Think about the situation and the people involved.
Now find 3 chairs, or cushions, or even three positions on the floor around you. Sit in the first chair and think about the situation from your point of view. Think about what happened, who said what, and how it made you feel.
Now move to the second chair. Think about the situation from the other person’s point of view. What do you think they were feeling? Why do you think they did or said what they did?
Finally, move to the third chair and imagine that you are a stranger watching what was going on. Pretend that you don’t know either you or the other people involved. What would the stranger be seeing, hearing, and feeling? What would they think was really going on?
This exercise works so well because it forces us to see situations from other people’s point of view.
TOP TIP: When we get upset about a situation it is often because we are only focussing on our own point of view and not thinking about the opinions and feelings of others.
Try THE THREE CHAIRS exercise the next time you think something isn’t fair and see how you can change how you feel about it.