The phenomenon of "blogging" amazes me. Who would have thought, 20 years ago, that there were sooo many "writers" among us; or that there were so many people with something meaningful to say; or at least people who think they have something meaningful to say. I suppose meaningful depends on the reader.
I have been inspired to join this list of committed individuals who enrich our lives (or at times annoy us) with their insight and commentaries. Perhaps I will be the only one who finds any humor or insight in my sharing. But if nothing else, maybe it will lead me on a journey of self discovery. If you happen to come across this blog and find something amusing; or intriguing; or worthwhile; or even something which stimulates contrary ideas, I would love to hear from you. I hope a few people may read and be entertained, amused or perhaps challenged in some way. If not, then I will enjoy sharing these thoughts and experiences with my laptop in hopes of crystallizing some thoughts which could enrich my own life in some way.
I LOVE sports. I have never been an incredibly gifted athlete; but we all recognize that loving something does not necessarily mean excelling at it (if you doubt this, go watch some of the early rounds of "American Idol" or "So You Think you can Dance", etc.). And only occasionally do I spend the time and money to attend sporting events in person; it takes a pretty special event to seperate me from the kind of money required for those tickets (the average ticket price for the 2011 Super Bowl immediately prior to game time was $4,750). Thus my view is often from the "cheap seats" (in front of the TV). But I tend to think that this is pretty common; I bet most of the real sports fans were watching the Super Bowl from the cheap seats; not from the luxury boxes.
I believe, and think it to be largely true, that each of us does indeed have something to share that could benefit others. We may not always recognize what it is that we should share; but we each want to feel good about ourselves and somehow writing these thoughts; or ideas; or just feelings about life and its varied experiences feels good. And there is much to be said for that. Everyone enjoys and audience; occasionally we all like the conversation to be about "us". Blogging creates that chance; even if the audience may be quite limited.
The fact that so many people want to share through blogging; or through Facebook; or through Twitter should tell us something. People want to be heard! They feel they have something important on their mind; in their life. They want to share it somehow. And for many people, a forum such as this may be the only stage they get to express on. And in these forums, they can get their entire thought out; their entire experience related; without being contradicted or interrupted or corrected. Wouldn't it be wise for us to learn from this?
In kindergarten we were taught to take turns; we were taught to not talk while someone else is talking; we were told to listen and soon it will be our turn to speak. How would others feel if we gave them a chance to share their feelings; if we valued their point of view as much as our own? Most of us are very familiar with our own viewpoint; we don't learn a lot more by sharing it again. But how much could we learn by listening to others?
Most of us are in the business of influencing people. Perhaps we sell products or services for a living. Certainly we would like to be able to influence our significant other to our way of thinking; whether it be the movie we want to see or the restaurant we want to try or the vacation destination of preference. Maybe we are in the business of influencing our children to come around to our way of thinking. Perhaps our job is to build and direct a team of strong minded individuals. It is amazing how cooperative people can become if they feel their ideas are being heard and are part of the plan.
If we took the time to really understand where these individuals are; what they are thinking and why; show appreciation for them; and then respond accordingly, we might be amazed at what can happen. Who knows how much we might learn about people and the world around us. Stephen R. Covey, one of my favorites, taught this, "Seek first to understand; then to be understood." What better way to understand a person than to listen to them?
The next time you find yourself in a situation where you desire to influence someone, consider first what they are thinking. Listen to their thoughts and opinions. I think you will be surprised. You will likely learn something and you will find it a whole lot easier to come to a meeting of the minds. You may even find yourself changing your thinking to align more closely with theirs.
Let me know how it works.
