Listen More
If there is anything I have learned more than anything, it is to listen more than I speak. Well, a few friends might disagree with this, but trust me, I have improved. Looking back at my time as a kid, I always wondered why the big difference between good parents and somewhat not very good parents and one of the things I realize is that good parents listen more than anything.
Yes, parents explain that they have more experience than the kids and so the kids should simply shut up and listen. In some cases, experience pays, but in other cases, it simply holds us back in the past and would keep us there if we let it. To experience something in the past is not a guarantee that it would happen again in the future and as such, the most important thing to take away from our experiences should be the life lessons and these lessons are not meant to keep us in the past.
While speaking makes you iterate what you know, listening is a way to learn something new and if by the end of every day, you have not learned anything new, you definitely need to look again at how you spend your time. Learning is the only way we become better versions of ourselves and how can we learn if we do not listen. To believe that knowledge is achieved only through position and age is a wrong notion and as such, we should realize that we can learn from anyone of any age and any position, so when anyone seeks to speak, let us give them that space to speak so that we can at least learn something new.
In listening more than we speak, it is not only about keeping quiet and not giving in any input, it is about paying close attention to everyone around you because silence is itself a form of communication and you can only understand what the message is if you listen. Listening is something we should do more in every area of our lives.
Relationships can be much better if we could only listen to what our spouse or our kids have to say. For a second, keep calm and simply listen. In organizations, it is important that management not only see numbers and results, organizations need to do more in listening to what everyone in the organization has to say. How can we lead when no one listens to understand? It is important that we seek to create a communication path for everyone around us. It is important to realize that without communicating, we would not have goals achieved and without achieving goals, life would indeed be meaningless and the simplest way to communicate is to listen.
Listening is very difficult especially when you are in the higher position like a parent or the boss and you would have to listen to what everyone below you has to say. But only when you listen can you emerge a better and a more people-oriented leader. Can anyone lead if he does not understand the needs of the people? And how can you understand the need if you do not listen?
So start today. Let the other person speak, listen carefully, listen for the details, do not listen only to speak, but listen to gain and derive knowledge from the other person. And that is the way to create a better and a just environment. Only then can we indeed achieve better love and relationship. So listen more today. Listen to your friends, your children, your parents, your employees and most importantly to people around you, take time to listen. Thanks and God Bless.
