About this quote

Treating a baffling person as a puzzle to be worked out — rather than a lost cause to write off — keeps you patient and curious where most people quit. The stance assumes there's a coherence to find if you keep paying attention, and that assumption is often what finally cracks the mystery open.

When to use it

• A parent staying curious about a suddenly withdrawn teenager instead of deciding the door is just closed.
• A manager who keeps studying a prickly colleague's patterns until the reason for the friction finally surfaces.
• A friend who reads a hard-to-place acquaintance with patience rather than filing them under too difficult.