Be careful of your negative space. If there are places you refuse to leave, those will be the places that can't be filled. 


If you were a cup, your shape will determine the shape of the water. If you treat someone as an invalid, your behavior would be very different from treating them as a potential hero. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll become the hero you imagine, but if you don't leave that space free, it will not be a choice available to them.


If you treat someone as mentally deficient, you won't even pause to consider their opinions. You don't bother to ask them any meaningful questions. If you treat the same person as a genius pretending to be mentally deficient, the way you talk to them becomes inquisitive, and you may even "learn" things from them that were actually derived from your own thoughts in a new context.


If you treat everyone as potential angels in disguise, you leave open more room for them to behave like angels.


If you treat everyone as potential messiahs, you leave room for them to actually save you.


If you treat everyone as potential secret agents, you give them room to do things that a normal person going about a normal day might never do.

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