How can you hear me when you're talking so loud?

Have you ever been in a situation where you are having a conversation or even an argument for that matter and all you can think about is getting your point across?

Even if you are silent while the other person is talking or saying their piece, your mind is running over what you are going to say next and how justified it is going to be rather than actually hearing what the other person is saying.
In a conversation not only is this bad manners but, it also means you are not interested enough in the other person to actually listen to what they have to say. If thats the case why even bother having the conversation, let them go and talk to someone who is genuinely interested in them.

In an argument this is even worse, how can you possibly resolve a disagreement when neither of you actually listen to (never mind understand) what the other person is saying?

And if you don't listen or understand, how can you expect the same from them?

And if neither of you is offering an open ear because you are too full of your own self importance, the argument is more likely to continue for longer and the relationship will grow farther apart, then becomes more difficult to reconcile.

Why not just stop for a moment, shut up, and actually hear what somebody else has to say, I mean really listen and take it in. It might surprise you, they might actually be making sense and you may see a solution to your disagreement with less hurt and less time wasted on negative energy.

You never know unless you try!

Do we really have time for this?.....

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you you think, "This is such a waste of time" ? It might be when you visit somebody, a friend of a friend perhaps and you went along to keep them company or while you are waiting in a queue at the shops.
When was the last time you had an argument or a falling out with a loved one or friend and thought that that was a waste of time? If you are like me it's probably not until after the fact I imagine.

Do we really need to get so upset with ourselves and with others over some of life's trivial concerns? If this was our last day on Earth would we really want to waste time having a silly argument  or to fall out with somebody because of something that happened in the past?

Once we have spent a moment in time and it is gone, it's gone forever, you can't get it back, and if you've wasted that moment and not enjoyed it you then spend time regretting it, wasting yet more time.
If we enjoyed each moment in life, we would have made valuable use of our time then and also we wouldn't be wasting more time on regrets.

Just a thought....

A little gem for today

I started thinking today about how we get things in life and how they come our way. Sometimes we go looking for them, we desire them and crave them so much. Sometimes we have them brought to us by other people, they feel that we are deserving of such experiences be they good or bad. Or we stumble across them quite by accident yet they still come in to our presence.

However we arrive at having anything in our lives, for whatever reason, one thing is for certain, if we are not meant to have it we won't, no matter how much we hope and pray. And if we are meant to have it, whether we like it or not, we are going to get it anyway.

So I say this it's great to get the things you want but we should also be able to want the things we get, or at least be grateful for the experience of it for a brief time, we learn and grow with each new experience.

Positive thoughts

Ok, the first of my positive daily thoughts I hope actually I can keep this up on a daily basis. Ok here goes.

Today I noticed something about sales , and area I am currently working in, in particular why people buy. We are taught in sales training that we sell to people every day, we sell ideas, thoughts and concepts to our families and friends to get them to see or agree to our way of thinking.
This is true however, these people already know us and therefor trust us somewhat so selling to them is easier. In order for us to sell to a complete stranger this cannot be done in one phone call or on one visit, we have to build trust and the only way someone will trust us is when they see that we are telling them the truth.

If you want to be good at sales, sell something which can sell itself and tell the truth - always!