- A. Smith Blog - Leadership in Life
Listening.
Some are better than others at this quality. It seems like opening your ears and letting someone in would be so simple, but the thing that listening takes is time. It takes the effort of looking at someone in the eyes, shutting everything else off for a minute and giving them your undivided attention. It seems so simple, but I guess with everyone being in a rapid paced life, people just don’t have time to listen… or they don’t want to. Maybe that’s it.
I tweeted the other day that it took me way too long to find out what the really important stuff in life is, and I mean every word of that. It took me six years of marriage to figure this one out. I said God was first, but he really wasn’t. I said Jasmine was second, but she really wasn’t. Just because you say how you feel or say what you care about doesn’t mean that you actually feel that way. Your actions say more than your words. How much time you spend with that person or consumed in that activity also says a lot about your priorities. I’m not saying all of this because I think that I’m perfect at setting priorities. I would just like to challenge you to reevaluate your priorities like I did to make sure they are all where they should be.
This post will probably make me seem really OCD, but I like things a certain way.
I want my side of the closet to be color-coded and no empty hangers.
I want my shoes left on the bottom corner, right side of the bed.
I want to drink coffee out of my Colorado Starbucks mug.
These things probably seem unimportant to you, but I’ve always done crazy little things like this. These habits of mine actually make my day better. I’m sure you have habits, too. They are ones that you’ve always done and there are the ones that you have picked up along the way. Some are weird habits, some are bad habits, and some are good ones. If you feel the need to wear a tuxedo to bed, that’s a weird habit. If you need to throw tomatoes at your kids when they mess up, that’s a bad habit. If you feel compelled to write a love note to your spouse each morning, that’s a good habit. Whatever your wants/likes/habits are, they are what make you unique.
