#FRIDAYFACTS. Listening, or just waiting to talk?

Steve Gamble of Man Anchor asked the question at our #Letstalk workshop, ‘are you listening to your mate when he shares, or are you just waiting to talk?

When times are tough it can be so easy to become self-absorb, to struggle to see past what difficulties may be happening in our lives. Our conversations become a series of individual monologues. I air my troubles, you air yours, and the process is repeated. Not only do we fail to really connect with each other, we miss the opportunity to support a mate and get the support we need. Sharing needs to be just as much about listening as it is about talking. 

I’m reminding myself today that to share both the joys and the burdens of life with mates we need to take the time during a conversation to listen, to get the focus off ourselves and on to the other. It's talking, not just telling, that it matters.

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash