When we listen TO someone, we hear what they are saying, and we often miss WHY they are saying it. The meaning behind the words reveals who the person is being in that moment. Are they frustrated or hopeful, determined or resigned? Are they focused on positive choices or stuck in negative thinking based on past experiences?
WHY we do what we do is often based on our past experiences. Sometimes this puts limits on the way we think and act in the moment. That’s why a person might express a goal or an intention, then do something different, maybe even making a decision counterproductive to what they’ve expressed as a goal. We don’t do this because we’re foolish or shortsighted. We behave this way when who we’re being is not in line with what we’re thinking.
When you listen FOR who someone is being, rather than TO what they are saying, you’re listening as a gift. When you listen FOR someone, it’s a way you’re being, a contribution to that person. Listening TO someone will reveal what they’re saying, leaving you, the listener, trying to decode that message. Sometimes, that creates miscommunication and misunderstanding that may not be revealed until much later. Listening FOR someone, puts the focus on who that person is being as they say what they are saying: Are they in the present? Are they looking ahead, or are they stuck, making decisions based on their past?
When we listen FOR someone, we are giving up what we think about what they are saying. This allows a connection to form, and we both enter into a spirit of harmony.
When you listen FOR who someone is being, rather than TO what they are saying, you’re listening as a gift. When you listen FOR someone, it’s a way you’re being, a contribution to that person. Listening TO someone will reveal what they’re saying, leaving you, the listener, trying to decode that message. Sometimes, that creates miscommunication and misunderstanding that may not be revealed until much later. Listening FOR someone, puts the focus on who that person is being as they say what they are saying: Are they in the present? Are they looking ahead, or are they stuck, making decisions based on their past?
When we listen FOR someone, we are giving up what we think about what they are saying. This allows a connection to form, and we both enter into a spirit of harmony.
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