When people in our lives are struggling or suffering, we desperately want to help but often are at a loss for what to say or what to do. In her insightful book, Option B, Sheryl Sandberg describes that people going through a difficult time often find that they are no longer surrounded by people, but platitudes.
One of the most popular, not said out of malice or insensitivity, but rather in the absence of anything more thoughtful, is ‘If there is anything I can do, please let me know.’ She quotes Bruce Feiler who writes, “While well-meaning, this gesture unintentionally shifts the obligation to the aggrieved. Instead of offering ‘anything,’ just do something.”
| 
Posts