Can we listen to other people 100% when they talk? And I am not referring to the quality of the hearing, but to the intention behind the message. I think this theme is fascinating since each of us sees the world in different ways and wants to express its point of view, as we do in Steemit. After all, interpersonal communication is something intrinsic to the human being, and it’s natural to want to convey our message efficiently, but for that, I think we should be aware of the concept of perception .
The importance of the “perception” concept
Perception is our ability to interpret the information that the world gives us, through our senses, according to our experiences as a point of reference. By understanding this concept, we can see why we look at the world in different ways. For example, it's almost certain you’ve recorded your voice and then found it very strange since it’s not in line with the voice you hear every time you speak. However, your friends will not feel this strangeness because they never heard your voice the way you do.
But now I ask: if we fundamentally realize that other people do not look at things the way we perceive them, then do we really get to understand other people? I honestly do not know if it is possible to perceive a person 100%, nor do I know if it is possible to know ourselves entirely, but I think it’s possible to be closer to others if we try to perceive the way they perceive the world.
What if we put ourselves in other people’s shoes?
I think the big problem arises when we do not listen to what others really want to convey. In my experience, this can happen in many ways (for example, being quick to draw conclusions), but what is certain is that the result is always the same; we end up seeing things through our own eyes and not from the eyes of other people. After all, we all have the experience that we have been absorbing over the years, and it’s normal for us to have opinions formed on certain subjects. Now it’s up to us to be flexible in our opinions and to have the notion that we may be wrong.
What if we made an effort to perceive the point of view of others without putting ourselves into the equation? Personally, I find this practice very difficult, but it is perfectly possible. Since I practice self-awareness, I’m noticing that sometimes I have the urge to jump to conclusions, but being aware of this leads me to try to put myself in the shoes of others instead of looking at my own perception. I confess that I still cannot sustainably do this, but I feel that, slowly but surely, I am getting a better understanding of the people around me.
Finally, I believe that if we are aware that our perception differs from the perception of others, we can not only evolve as individuals and communicators but also better know and understand the people around us.
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Thank you for reading so far!
I hope you enjoyed this post! I think this is one of the most powerful insights I’ve practiced lately, so I hope this post may be useful to you in the future.
What about you? What is your opinion on this topic?
Have you ever put yourself in other people’s shoes?
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See you soon,
Shaden