In desperate need of rehoming.
A scruffy, soulful-eyed dog stared up from the photo.
I couldn’t scroll past.
So I read the post.
The author described a host of hard life circumstances—intense family needs, recent financial hardship, and a health scare.
I sent a support emoji.
Then I noticed the comments. More than 20 people had already weighed in, and most responded with unsolicited advice, questioned her decision, or expressed concern about the dog’s well-being.
I don’t think any of them meant harm. Yet most commenters likely didn’t know the details of her circumstances or how long she’d wrestled with this decision.
Instead of first acknowledging her pain or providing space for her grief, most jumped straight to sharing their opinions.
It struck me that we do this at work, too. People make difficult decisions, deliver hard news, or navigate personal choices that affect work. And instead of leading with humility, we sometimes jump in with what we would have done, or why the current decision isn’t the “right” one.
We can choose to show up differently. We can seek to understand, offer support, and resist the urge to insert our own opinion where it wasn’t requested.
Because we rarely know the whole story.