One contributor, Jennifer James, shared a story about how she had applied a theory of grace in her life. Specifically, James shared that she had assumed a “ten percent grace factor” into her life, the result of which included “tremendous changes, all positive.”
James provided examples of how you can apply a ten percent grace factor into your life, such as:
- “Assume that you’ll pay 10 percent more than your share of a dinner check shared with friends.”
- “Assume that the bargain that you got will cost 10 percent less somewhere else tomorrow.”
- “Assume that you’ll get cheated about 10 percent of the time and assume that you’ll lose about 10 percent of your property one way or another.”
James advised that adding a grace factor into your life comes with a cost but also yields personal benefits of great value. She wrote, “Public grace will, in private, reduce tension, improve your perception of the world, improve your relationships, and increase your joy.”
What do you think about the idea of adding a grace factor of some degree into your life? Do you think doing so would require you to lower your expectations about your life experiences in any way? Do you agree with James’ suggestion that applying grace into your life is a good thing, or do you think the costs of applying a grace factor into your life would be too great?
I’m not 100 percent sure that I agree with James’s 10 percent grace factor advice, but I do agree that all of us should strive to practice grace in our circumstance – crediting and forgiving others where possible along life’s long and winding road. I think another author, Seth Godin, was right when he wrote these words in his book, Graceful:
“The thing is, no one is born graceful. It’s not a gift, it’s a choice. Every day, we get a chance to give others the benefit of the doubt. Every day, we get the opportunity to give others our support, our confidence, our trust.”
What about you? How graceful do you think you are? How graceful do you want to be?
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