“Shhhhhhhhhh. All day.”

I find that the impulse to talk is highly overrated … while the value of listening is extolled in business and communication quarters as the pinnacle skill of best practices.

Why then do we not heed that good advice in personal or social exchanges? Or in business, for that matter? Often, we jockey for position, trying to impress, trying to be first, trying to get noticed. Or as mentioned above, we are not really listening when we are listening! We are formulating what we wish to say next.

When we authentically listen, it is fascinating what we hear and see and sense. That whole new dimension comes in, the same one we experience when we feel compassion for another. Just pausing before you speak and breathing as you listen to another gives rise to a more conscious expression when you do speak up. Try it today.

Breathe. Pause. Listen. Speak. In between all that, stay in a semi-state of

Shhhhhhhhhh. All day.