Are you living “below the line”?

You are “below the line” when you are turning a deaf ear to the feedback life is sending your way and, instead, are insisting that you are right and don’t need to change.  Some people are committed to living below the line.  Researchers studied people who had survived a heart attack and were told they must stop smoking and lose weight.  Only 40% of smokers stopped smoking.  Of 1,200 overweight men and women, the average weight loss after 12 months was .2 lbs. of body weight.  For a 220 lb. person that is less than one pound.

We say being “below the line” is fear-based.  It is often when you feel criticized, threatened, or attacked that you become rigid in your thinking and circle the wagons around protecting yourself.  You can probably think of times when you were defensively argumentative, sticking up for yourself and arguing why the feedback you were receiving was not true.

So, what’s wrong with being “below the line”?  Nothing except it isn’t the posture for learning, change, and growth.  You may have had the experience of talking to someone who had an exceptional need to be right.  They came across as having all of the answers.  They wanted to tell you what to do.  They weren’t open to other points of view.  They felt oppressive and difficult.  They aren’t fun people to work for or with.

Often you can spot when people are “below the line” by behaviors such as explaining, making excuses, complaining, blaming other people, and justifying themselves.  These are all defensive moves that blunt and negate feedback.  Organizations filled with such behavior are often sluggish and resistant to change.

Fortunately, being “below the line” is not a genetic condition or a disease.  It is a choice.  And, since it is a choice, you can choose the alternative but only if you notice that you have drifted “below the line”.

Be on the lookout for times you drift below the line.  What triggered that reaction?  Send your answers to me at jskeen@skeengroup.net.