“You are not listening to me!” That is often a great indication of frustration, and perhaps a greater indication of misunderstanding or missing the point. How often do we jump in the middle of other’s sentences to “respond” to what they are sharing? How often do we really listen to others to understand what they want to share? How often do we formulate what we want to tell others while we are supposedly listening intently to them? The answer is much too often, well, actually all the time.
As we get older, we bring a lot of experiences to the table, which itself is not a bad thing. Unfortunately sometimes it limits us to understand others if we do not practice real listening. We almost want the conversations to go to where it is familiar and comfortable. What is wrong with surprises that lead us speechless? Why are we scared of awkward silence?
Listen with curiosity and desire to understand, and not with desire to convince others with your ideas or opinions.
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