Yesterday morning I went out for a run and thought I might end up in a fight.

I was walking out to the main street, where I usually start my run, and noticed a young guy walking a little dog.

I noticed him because he was staring at me.

I continued to the main street, crossing to the side the guy was on. I prepared to turn right and start my run.

He kept staring at me, while his little dog took a dump on the grass.

I’ve often found proof that some people in our neighborhood do not pick up after their dog. Since this guy was staring at me, seemingly oblivious to his dog’s deposit, I asked:

“Are you going to pick that up?”

To which I got a forceful:

“Why don’t you mind your own business?”

I stopped walking to reply:

“Well, it actually is my business because it’s my neighborhood.”

I’m not going to quote the guy anymore. Suffice it to say I received some slang, some attitude and some expletives.

And then he told me he had a bag, opening his hand to show me the crumpled ball of plastic within.

He had a bag and was going to pick up after his dog.

But he got upset and continued on his rant.

So I headed off on my run, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the exchange.

What stood out was how his response came from what he thought I was saying, not the actual words I had said.

If he had answered the question, I might imagine his response might be:

“Yep, I have a bag right here.”

To which I would’ve replied:

“Very cool. Thanks for being a good neighbor.”

I thought it over during my run. The guy had some sort of underlying belief that was a lens through which he interpreted my question.

That belief could be:

No one tells me what to do.

Or:

People don’t trust me.

Or:

I always get a bad rap.

Or:

Runners are terrible people.

Okay, probably not that last one.

Whatever it was, it caused him to respond in a hostile and defensive manner, when it all could have been avoided by a simple ‘yes.’ These are limiting beliefs.

The most interesting part is:

We all do this. All the time.

You and I are constantly interpreting our experiences through the lens of our internal beliefs.

Sometimes we’re right on and life continues smoothly.

Other times we get defensive, afraid, hostile, angry, or depressed…to name a few possibilities.

In both cases, our internal beliefs create our external responses.

What beliefs are you holding that make life harder than it needs to be?