Recently, I watched James Lipton’s interview of Dave Chappelle on Inside the Actors Studio. It was great to learn more about Chappelle’s story and his attitudes towards life and Hollywood. While he didn’t go into a lot of detail about why he disappeared from the Chappelle Show and spent time in Africa, he did make a comment in reaction to those in the media that had said he had gone “crazy”:

The worst thing to call somebody is crazy. It’s dismissive. I don’t understand this person so they’re crazy. That’s bullshit.

The fact is that most people, including myself, are usually quick to judge others when they think or act in a way that’s not inline with our own expectations or rationales. Instead of taking the time to understand the other person, we often just label them as crazy and continue on our ignorant way.

This reminds me of a quote from Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People (read my review):

Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.

Carnegie is emphasizing that it’s easy to condemn people who you don’t agree with. However, by doing so, you miss out on an opportunity to improve your own self.

Even in the business world, I often say things in my mind like “Wow, that investor is crazy to invest in that startup.” or “CEO X is crazy for making that decision.” The reality is that in both cases, the CEO and the investor likely had arrived at their respective decisions only after it was justified by the result of an exhaustive analysis.

It is absolutely true that on the occasions when I’ve sat and thought further about someone’s decision that I initially thought to be crazy, the process of performing this analysis often broadens my own perspective. In fact, often times I realize that my initial reaction was influenced more by my emotion rather than logic. Sort of like this: “They did what?! Are they insane?! …. Hmmmm, I think I might understand why they did that.” Sometimes I change my mind and agree with the other person, other times not. No matter what though, I have a more complete comprehension of the situation having taken the time to understand the other person’s view.

As Carnegie also states, “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - most fools do.” So next time you are about to call someone crazy, don’t be a fool. Stop and try to assess the situation from the other person’s view. I bet you’ll walk away a better person for doing so.