Why should people care what I think?

Sat around yesterday for a while with the poo bird on my bottom lip.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is one of those annoying behaviors people have.  A person is pouting, and the antagonist says, "The poo bird is going to land on that lip", and tries to put two fingers down on the lip like a bird landing.  Ridiculous except for the fact that I have done it to others many times.

I was pouting because I had done some clever posting (I thought) and no one had responded.  I had even set up a contest to allow someone to get a free book of wisdom from Barney Fife.  Who wouldn't want that?  Well, as the day went on and no one had any comments or found the book on my store site for free, I began to wonder about all the things I say to people.  Does anyone really care about what I think?

Hey, this is a question we all could ask ourselves at one time or another.  We feel like there is knowledge or wisdom in our heart just bursting to get out, and there is no one there to receive it.  After a while, if we are not careful we just get to the point where we don't even want to communicate anything.  You know, however, if I were to succumb to the issues of what of what other people think about me, I would be going against the dictates of my first book, The 70 Percent Solution (of which I was giving away two yesterday!).

I have observed recently that there is an imbalance in the force, so to speak.  People who I have come in contact with (the other people, not you who are reading this) seem so interested in getting their stuff out, that there is very little capacity for taking info in.  This has created in me two different feelings, which are colliding with each other regularly.  The first feeling is the one I felt above - "when is someone going to listen to me?" but the second is "This person really needs someone to listen to them." 

It is sobering to realize how rampant that need is.  People want to be listened to.  They are so full of knowledge, thoughts and feelings that no one seems to have time to hear, that they almost bust trying to get it all out when the opportunity arises.  They will talk about themselves, their families and their problems to almost anyone who stops and takes the time to focus on them.

Think about the implications of this in your different roles.  For example, in your family relationships.  Are you listening with focus?  Are you seeing who in your family is hungry to be heard?  What about at your work?  Do you really take time to listen to the person, or are you evaluating content constantly for value?  And what about those you serve, such as your customers?  Are you constantly steering conversations to the things you want to talk about? Are you willing to invest in the person or just the sale?

The downside of this line of questioning is it requires us to deal with the fact that if we invest in listening, the return might not be in being heard.  It might just be the knowledge that the other person received the gift of being listened to.

 I hate that.  I want my listeners and I want them now!!!!!!!!! 

Well now that my little tantrum is over, I am refreshed and ready to listen to whatever you have to say.  Oh, and if you want to have people read your posts, don't put them up at 10:45 AM.  Who looks at Facebook then?  And - the book is still out there.  Click up top on thebyrdstore link and find it first.

Listen for the benefit of others today.  You might just get enough joy to overcome not being listened to.