I think the most common form of nolistening in my communication is psuedolistening. Psuedolistening is when someone pretends to listen and appears attentive but their mind is somewhere else. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a day dreamer and as such my mind often wanders to other places while people are talking to me. Usually in the middle of class or a conversation that holds no real significance to me, I’ll put on a sort of mask with my expressions and make people think that I’m listening. It’s gotten me into a bit of trouble more times than I care to admit, especially in relationships. I plan to fix it by making a conscious decision to stay focused and engaged in what others are trying to say to me. It isn’t right for me to expect others to listen to everything I have to say but not do as much for them.
Cobb Blog,
ReplyDeleteI commend you for stating that It isn’t right for you to expect others to listen to everything you have to say but not do as much for them. It is a very mature self reflection. I pseudolisten to my husband all the time because we’ve had the same conversation for over six years now: “how’s your day, how were the kids, did everything go smoothly at work?” I am able to pseudolisten because thankfully we have yet to have an eventful day. There have been no real issues to deal with, and while I am grateful to God for this, I should not let it continue just because we’ve had long days. He seems to pay attention to everything I say (I quiz him periodically). :) So I need to stop because as you so eloquently put it, “It isn’t right for me to expect others to listen to everything I have to say but not do as much for them“.