LISTENING

I am going to share the TED talk with you in hopes that you will keep this as food for thought and also be inspired to listen and communicate better. This month my focus has really been on connecting. I have found myself thinking a lot about connections. The connections I have made with people, cutting connections, sharing a connection with another, and learning to form healthy connections with people in my life.

After you watch the ted talk I hope you feel more inspired to listen and to connect. Ted Talk By Julian Treasure, 2011.

Listening I realized is something that is very important and is also vital in Connecting with people. We understand each other by listening and making connections. In the Ted Talk he mentioned how we are losing our conversation skills but are publicly broadcasting more and more. I thought this was intriguing and it made me think about social media, and how many times I click on my twitter app in a day.

The amount of time one can spend on social media "connecting" with others does not amount to how it feels to actually have a real conversation with another, soak in their presence, and understand them. It makes me wonder if I am a good listener, I am thinking now of the last time I really felt that I connected with someone on another level. We should make a conscious effort not to rely on fake or artificial forms of connection. Like texting, dm-ing, posting on social media, etc. We should all look for and crave real, personal, raw, connections with people and our loved ones.

So ask yourself, Are you a half ass listener? When is the last time you really listened to someone and truly felt you connected with them?

I hope you have connected with others, and if not I hope you can make a goal to do that soon!

-Jeane Tui