#52

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Can you believe it?  52…That’s right friends, this is #52 which means BYBS blog has marked its one-year anniversary.  That’s 52 weeks and 52 blogs!  I am not sure if I should be excited or breath out a sigh of exhaustion.  What a year!

And as I reflect on this milestone in my life, I realize I really should feel happy with my accomplishments and commitment to this endeavor.  Yet there is something that has been nagging at me.  There is a different kind of emotion I am feeling that I can’t quite pinpoint.  And I believe it all keeps coming back to this one thought that continues to run through my mind.  This thought of:  Could I seem ‘arrogant’ to those around me?  And boy, do I hate that word!  It certainly is a word that I hope will never be used to describe me.  

So why do I worry that it might be?  Why do I worry that I will be described in this way? After attending last fall’s leadership conference and hearing the amazing DeDe Halfhill speak, (check her out if you don’t know her backstory), I keep hearing her words echoing in my mind.  Her words of: “Rarely is arrogance about what we do.  But it’s more about not listening and making people around us feel unvalued.”   And this past year, well let’s just say, I sure have been doing a whole heck of a lot of talking and not nearly enough listening…especially when it comes to this blog.  

So again…could I appear to be ‘arrogant’?

Because of this question, for #52, I am going to change it up a bit.  And I am going to need your help for this one.  But let’s start here first…

I’ve got a few questions for you because this idea of talking without listening may be a topic that you too want to improve upon in your life.  So let me just ask:  Have you ever taken the time to really think about how you might be perceived by others around you?  And to add another layer, have you ever taken the time to ask?  If you have been brave enough to ask, then the last and most important question is this: Have you ever taken the time to listen to their answer?  Because if you aren’t really listening, then you may be perceived so much differently than the way you think.  Instead, you really just might be perceived as…yes this word again… ‘arrogant’.  And I am certain you don’t want that either.

We need to work together on this one and figure out how we can fix it.  How we can banish that word ‘arrogance’ from our life?  I believe it all starts with becoming better listeners.  If you struggle with this, don’t feel bad, so do I.  Talking for me is as natural as breathing… literally …just ask my husband.  And if no one is there to listen, that’s okay too because I still find a way to chat…even with myself.  

But starting today and with #52, it’s time to do something different.  It’s time to learn, grow, and become a better version of ourselves.  Which in turn means becoming better at listening to those around us instead of always being the one doing all of the talking.  And what better way to do this then to just pause next time we have the opportunity to practice our listening skills.  Pause in that moment and fight that natural urge to just start blabbing away.   Instead, this next time around, let’s really take the time to listen, to ask insightful questions, and to pay attention to the answers instead of worrying about what we should say next.  We need to be present for those in our life, and we need to make those important people feel valued.  We need to remind our family and friends that we really aren’t arrogant, and that their words also matter.  We need to show them that we care.  

And what better time for me to start then now…I mean like right now.  I am ready to fight that natural urge of mine with you…today.  I am ready to learn, grow, and become better, and it all starts with making sure you, my BYBS blog followers, know how valued you are.  To know how much I do care about you. 

So here is what I am going to do with #52.  It’s been a whole year and an awful lot of talking from me.  But if I learned anything from Dede Halfhill last fall, it’s that we have to remember that we have one mouth and two ears, so I need to start using it accordingly.  And it’s going to start with you.  If you have followed me on this journey then I need to ask for your help.  I need you to start doing the talking and for me to do the listening, which means that I need you to write in to me with some of your thoughts on the following:  What should I keep doing with the BYBS blog?  What should I change and do differently?  How could I grow this blog to inspire more people to be the best version of themselves?  And most importantly, if I am going to have you do the talking, then I need to ask this too:  What is going on in your life right now that you could use some help with?  

Send your thoughts to my email at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com . 

I am literally all ears…for once…so I am going to stop talking now, and it’s time for you to just tell me what you think…I am ready to listen…

Xoxo

Marsha

*For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com.  Let’s work together to Be Our Best Selves!