Communication.

In the last few days I have been struck by the difficulty many of us have to communicate our thoughts, feelings, intentions and instructions.  Is it our inability to get our point across or is it another’s perception that is at fault here?  I’m going to say both! Hence why we need a great deal of patience, understanding and qualification to properly communicate.  Sometimes with some people it is quite easy and we would love to be around these people all the time.  However, we don’t always work with the same communication style people, we may not be married to them and we may have to deal with them in many other aspects of life. The challenge in communicating with others who don’t share our same “words” is not in the language we chose, I think it’s actually in the listening.  Listening without judgement or assumption. I have a lot of intuitive feelings about people and it is often difficult for me to not allow these assumptions to cloud my listening. I really need to listen objectively and not form my own opinions, I have learned that if I am not sure of the others intention to question and investigate.  This of course becomes much more difficult when it involves someone close to me. The more emotionally involved I am the more difficult it is.  But the truth is, what we don’t realize is if we want to deepen the connections with the people we love the most, we MUST work at understanding each others communication.  Taking things other people say personally comes from our own insecurities and fears and it is easy to project this onto them. Let’s play The Blame Game!  I believe the important piece here is “intention”.  What is our intention in this situation is it really to come to an understanding? Or is it about putting our opinions onto someone else?  Only you have the answer to this question, but I can promise you this, your life will become much more relaxed and peaceful if you can approach every misunderstanding with an open mind, don’t take things personally and always strive for the best possible outcome for both of you!  I’m not going to lie, it is still a work in progress for me, but I am up for the challenge.  Are you?