Are You Listening?

$100 Says You're Not

Happy Friday Friends,

I had a teacher in primary school. She was scary as hell. If you’ve read (or watched) Matilda, then just think Miss Trunchbull.

She would devise creative phrases and insults that she'd hurl in our direction. There was one phrase I remember her using most often; “JARREN!! Do you know that those things on the sides of your head are not ornaments?”

I am pretty sure I rolled my eyes every time she said it - lame! Yet, now, in typical dad style, I pose that exact question to my kids every week. I wonder if they think I'm just as lame.

Run a little thought experiment with me quickly. Think back over your past week. How many conversations did you have? Work, home, at the shops. How many of those conversations did you actually listen to what the other person was saying? I'd wager there's a good percentage you weren't listening to.

It happened to me earlier this week. My daughter told me a story on our way home from school pick-up. When she finally reached the end of her elaborate tale, she had herself and her sister in stitches. It was at that point I realised I hadn’t listened to a single word she’d said. I definitely heard talking, but if my life depended on it, I could tell you any part of that story.

That evening, while journalling my day, I realised that I had done a lot of listening earlier that day. I had one-on-ones with a few clients and solved some problems with colleagues. I could recall almost every detail of those conversations. Was it because I had to listen because they were "important"?

Thinking about why those situations were so different led to a theme for this week’s post. There is a difference between hearing and listening. One is passive, and the other is active and deliberate.

I came to a realisation:

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Thanks for reading.

Peace, love and growth,

Jarren Pinchuck