Never Offend For Sport
After a quiet morning on the e-mail front, I received a deluge of feedback in the afternoon regarding yesterday's post. I knew it was coming, but it was more aggressive than anticipated. I certainly knew I would receive backlash, which is part of the reason I haven't published about that topic much until now. However, after a few engaging conversations with friends, I felt the nudge to suck it up and engage in the topic.
Two ideas come to mind when I think about receiving backlash:
A wise mentor once told me, "Travis, you're always going to offend someone, so just make sure it's the right someones." Dang!!!! It's true, though. We will inevitably offend people along the journey, one way or another. It's a when, not if. If that's true, we might as well offend people by being truthful to ourselves.
I never offend for sport. It breaks my heart when I offend people. I never set out to offend or hurt people. I try to make sure that when I speak, my intentions are pure. If I'm going to say something that could possibly be received as offensive, I'm going to do it with a mission in mind. In situations like yesterday's post, the mission is to challenge people to think about a certain topic through a particular lens.
In a time when offending people seems to be a game, sport, and hobby, I recommend we try a different strategy. No, we'll never completely avoid being offensive to some people at some times. There's no way to avoid it. However, we can take a different approach. Aim for sincerity and let the chips fall where they may.
I hope you regularly feel challenged by my posts. I hope I give you something to think about. I hope it even inspires you from time to time. I never intend to offend. However, if I do offend you, please know that's never my mission. I never want to offend for sport.
Have an awesome day!
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