Everyone Is Actually Heard
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” -Jackie Robinson
Do you love it when you leave someone and think about how nice they were? Do you leave wondering about who they were and how they got that way? Do you feel good about yourself simply because you were talking with the?
What about the other side? How about when you pass another person’s grumble? Maybe you’re at work and your co-worker is a little more impatient today or frankly outright short with others, borderline rude. Do you feel their mood and want to run away? Not only do your words make an impact, but so does your tone.
My mother opened every gift with huge “oooo”s and “ahhh”s like your gift was the gift she has been waiting for all of her life! Every gift was the gift! Ever have someone open a gift from you with mild or minimum excitement and you feel deflated too?
Do you see where I am going with this? No, you don’t always have to be chipper; you don’t have to wear a smile when you want to frown. But isn’t it important to remember that everyone is having a good or bad day and what YOU do impacts that.
Everyone’s voice is heard. So what are you saying? And how are you saying it?
“Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms —to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Victor Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning
Comment
Ashleigh
December 1, 2011 at 7:34 AMSimply wonderful Flora. Great idea. Thank you for the comment.
Flora M Brown, Ph.D.
December 1, 2011 at 2:50 AMAshleigh,
You’re so right about the power of our words.
When my oldest two kids were young they took Suzuki violin lessons. Their teacher told us parents to make a point to go over to each child (not just our own) after each recital and give them a compliment that was specific to something about their performance. Those compliments coming from other parents were very meaningful to each kid.