Are you a good listener?

You’ve likely heard the question: “Why do we have two ears and only one mouth?”  You guessed it.

Because we’re supposed to listen more and talk less.

But we love to tell our own story. And many of us are only too willing to share our opinions whether asked for or not. For some reason, we feel compelled to defend them at all cost!

Like I wrote in last week’s post, truths are based upon beliefs that we accept. But that doesn’t mean that my truth is yours or that your truth is mine. We all come to this place in our own way.

So why do we think we need to convince others of our truth? Are we really only trying to convince ourselves?

Instead, we should, like the opening quote suggests, that we let our truth loose as it will defend itself. It will find its own audience of those who share the same belief.

Back to why we have two ears and one mouth.

Simply put, we need to listen more — to be open to hear the truth of others, whether we share the same truth or not. That’s the only way we evolve.

By listening to others, we open ourselves up to new information, a different way of looking at something, and perhaps even a softening of a tightly held belief that was based on inaccurate or narrow thinking.

Listening to the truth of others is also about allowing yourself to stand in their shoes, to acknowledge their story, and to respect their point of view.

That doesn’t mean you have to adopt it or challenge it by trying to defend your own. It just means that you need to be more available to others. To respect the path they’ve walked as it was their path, just like your path was yours. Different paths are really not open for debate – it shouldn’t be a competition. They just are what they are.

So, let’s all try to listen more and talk less. And while we’re at it, let’s open our hearts more so that what we hear reminds us that we are fellow travelers on this life journey and that we need each other’s differences and similarities to help navigate our adventure. And that my friend is joyful living.

Love from your Joy Mama,

P.S. One of the biggest reasons that people choose to not accept the truth of others is that they don’t feel aligned within their own self. It’s one of the biggest barriers to joy and abundance. To learn more about this barrier and others, get your free copy of my e-book The 8 barriers to Joy and Abundance.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these:

What do you hold true?
Are you speaking your truth?
How do you show respect?
Change your beliefs, change your truth
Do you know your family tree?

 

Image from Pixabay.