And open your ears.
(No, I don’t, nor have I ever, had an earring. 🤷♂️)
Anyhow…
This is one of those pieces of advice that comes up all the time in one’s life. Or at least it does in mine. Even more these days with the advent of “active listening”, “soft skills”, etc. in the workplace.
In my experience it’s also one of the hardest to execute regularly and properly.
When someone comes at us with an issue or a complaint, our first instinct is to get defensive. Especially if they are coming in hot (Perhaps a topic for a future post).
Our second instinct is often to immediately launch a counter-offensive. Because, if we’re being honest, most of us don’t like to feel attacked, called out, or what have you. Nor is it in our nature to enjoy being corrected if we screw up.
Admittedly, I often want to go on the offensive if I feel I’m getting called out for something. If an approach rubs me the wrong way, it takes a real effort to stay quiet and let things unfold.
(In my head, I am telling myself to shut up and let it play out, but there’s a part of me that really wants to give you my back)
It is definitely not easy, and it can be quite the struggle, but nine times out of ten, if we can just stay quiet and really hear the other person(s) and what they are saying, the answers usually present themselves pretty quickly.
And in a lot of cases, once the person has gotten it out, that’s pretty much the end of it. Turns out they just really wanted to be heard and get it out of their system.
I’ve received a lot of advice in my day and still do. But I would say more and more often, the old adage about silence being golden really is true.
Have a great day, all. And remember, once in awhile, listening to the world and the folks around you can indeed pay dividends.
Stay Frosty.
©The Beginning At Last
The Beginning At Last 
Leave a comment