Recently, I have been giving a lot of thought to two quotations:
“To acquire knowledge one must study; but to acquire wisdom one must observe.”
– Marilyn vos Savant
and…
“The reward for always listening when you’d rather be talking is wisdom.”
– Anonymous
In my experience, the wisest men and women that I have know always spent more time listening and observing. When they did speak… it was usually to ask a question … and they always listened to the response – completely.
They listened – not just to the words. They listened for one reason – to understand. And when they did not quite understand – they asked another question. And repeated this process until they did understand – completely.
When they asked me those questions – one after the other – I finally reached a level of understanding. I learned a lot more – about myself. A lot more than I ever learned from a book or a class.
The greatest lesson I ever learned was to learn how to listen. I admit that I have yet to master this lesson. It requires time and dedication to do so. It requires discipline. It requires self-confidence.
Learning to listen requires me to ask questions about myself and my beliefs. And.. it requires me to listen to my responses. It requires me to observe my actions.
It pays off!
It’s a wise course to pursue.
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