In a world that likes to talk, I find it really odd that nobody wants to listen, because if you’re talking, shouldn’t there be someone who is listening? Communication is a two way streak after all, right?
When I say listen, I mean really listen and understand and not just hear, which is what most people seem to do these days. Makes you think that if all that is happening is talk and nobody is really listening, what’s the point of it all.
Sometimes I feel that the world has become a really noisy place, what with all the various ways of communication that we have invented for ourselves. Everywhere you go, there is a literal bombardment of information that is thrown at you, whether you like it or not.
In the 21st century, where communication is as easy as thinking about it, there is one half missing and it is that of listening and that might just be the reason behind a lot of our problems.
The Interruptions and Distractions
There is no doubt that there are tons of distractions in our life and it is ironical that the means that we invented to bring us closer are ending up driving us further apart.
At a party or even a small gathering of friends, most are busy with their heads down deep into their smartphones concentrating on a virtual social network when the real one is right there in reality in front of them.
When someone is talking to us, we are constantly distracted by those pesky notifications on our smartphones and now even on our smart watches and we just can’t help but look.
But it is not only technology that is coming in the way of effective communication. Things like ego, anger, hate, and other similar negative emotions play a huge role in us not being able to listen and make us way more interested in pushing our own thoughts and opinions across.
Listen and Understand
Yes, it is important to express yourself and yes you are benefitted a lot by doing so, but listening is an art that is equally important and in my own experience, it’s a little bit more important than talking.
You see, a person who listens understands and it is the understanding of everything around us that makes us wiser and more knowledgeable. We see the world through the filter of our perception and thus we can miss a whole lot about it because of that filter.
If you listen to people and their stories, you open yourself to a slew of other views and that helps you widen your perception a great deal which is the single most important thing you can do for yourself.
After all isn’t life about growing? That seems to be the model that life itself is based on, in my opinion. The world and life itself are so complicated and dynamic and it is a deeper understanding of them that comes from listening to what is outside of you that will finally make your time on this planet worth it.
Plus if you listen to people, they are more likely to listen to you as well and then there can be an unrestricted flow of ideas that just wasn’t possible before. That is why corporations establish environments where such communications can take place which ultimately drive innovation.
Sometimes I feel like if everyone in the world just stopped for a second trying to convince the world of their ideals and opinions and paid heed to what the other had to say and consider for a second that they too can be right and their voice too matters, I think this would be a different world altogether.