Home of the fumbler…

Perhaps the first step for being a good person, a good leader, a good husband, a good father is all the same.

Listen more than you speak.

When your mind runs at 100 kmph, it requires more processing power and it apparently even takes over the part of the brain that will usually tell you that you are being selfish. My significant other got exasperated with me the other day.  What we were talking about is not significant nor is it significant who started it, who was right or wrong. What is significant is that I would keep cutting her off to interject my thoughts. Perhaps what I needed was what PP (Princess Peach as she insists on being known), my significant other did – she told me how frustrating she found this habit but she didn’t seek to leave the conversation and she stayed with me. That allowed the message to sink in – knowing that she trusts me to work on this even if this is seriously bothering her. In a way it makes me take the issue even more seriously. I can’t afford to lose this person.

I can’t quite understand why I do it but I do understand it’s one of those things that qualifies as a significant character flaw. It is something I need to fix and fast. This trait will hold me back in any venture I enter be it love, life or business. I don’t think I do this often in other spheres of life but perhaps I do not notice that I do it. Unless I pay serious and deliberate attention to my predisposition to doing this, I will lose significant people and opportunities.

Do you listen? Are you even aware that you tend to ride rough shod over others? Are you aware that you may me silently repressing those around you? Are you aware that you can have an opinion and allow others to have one too? Are you aware that you can be firm but still allow the other person to leave the conversation feeling respected?

Are you aware that you may be an inch from losing someone or something important solely because you don’t pay attention to your own self?

I just read an article where the author said the cheapest and most effective MBA can be offered in four words:

Talk less. Listen More.

Simple yes. But you may be surprised that it is also much harder to earn this credential in life than any MBA out there.