Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Morning Motivation - Listening

Episode Date: September 7, 2022

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If you'd like to enjoy Wake Me Up completely ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content, check out the link in the show notes for the Wake Me Up premium feed. Hey there, and welcome to Wake Me Up. I'm your host, Tyler, as always, and I'm so thrilled that you're here with me today. This week, we've been talking about the act of listening. In the fast, production-driven nature that most of us live in, we so often forget to quiet our own voices. When the quality of our listening improves,

so does our ability to absorb new information, to be guided with better clarity, and to hold space for other people. The other day I mentioned an old Arabic proverb that goes like this. The smarter you get, the less you speak. Friends, we don't learn by talking. We learn by listening.

People will tell you how to make them happy, and so will your own heart, but you have to be actively listening. This morning's motivational bit will shift your awareness towards being a better receiver for yourself and for other people. But before we dive in, let's just pause for one moment. Wherever you are, take a deep breath in, fill all the way into your lungs and your belly, hold it at the top. and then release and sit here for just a moment and listen to your own thoughts. You can close your eyes if you'd like, but you don't have to. What's the subject or subjects of your attention right now? Are any of these thoughts important such that you should hold on to them right now?

Are there any thoughts that you can put away for the time being? Take another inhale, filling even deeper this time, and as you exhale, just let go of those thoughts you don't need for right now. You can come back to them another time. Once more now, inhale, filling all the way up, and exhale, release those thoughts you don't need right now. If your mind is anything like mine, constantly running, then I'm sure they'll find their way back at some point.

But now that we've cleared out some of that inner chatter, feel free to go about your morning routine, whatever it is you like to do, making coffee or tea, having stretch, going for a walk, even journaling, whatever you like to do. And while you do that, let's talk about the power of listening. You see, listening is half of a conversation,

but when it's done right, listening is much more than just hearing. You'll know when you're truly listening, because you won't be eager to speak. You'll be fully surrendered to the speaker, trying your best to hear their words from their own perspective, rather than trying to come up with your own response. The spiritual teacher Eckhart Toll says that true listening is another way of bringing stillness

into the relationship. When you truly listen to someone, the dimension of stillness arises and becomes an essential part of the relationship. Simply put, by listening deeply, you're acknowledging the other person's existence, their problems, and their life. By making them feel heard, you're making them also feel seen. And that's really powerful. Some research even shows that speakers paired with good listeners feel less anxiety, more self-awareness, and a higher sense of clarity. The same speakers were also shown to have less extreme attitudes

and were more willing to engage in conversation with diverse perspectives. This shows the power of great listening. people can feel when they're being heard authentically, and when that happens, they're given the safety to be fully seen as they are, with all of their strengths and weaknesses. When we feel fully seen, we can expand beyond our current attitudes and behaviors.

And we can even extend this understanding of the speaking and listening dynamic to ourselves. When we choose to listen to our truest desires, we will know with certainty, that we're guided by our own self, not the influences and desires of others. You can recognize this voice because it's loving. It's not fearful.

It's separate from that busy, talkative voice that tells you to hurry and accomplish more or that you're behind in life. Perhaps, just like the research shows, with deeper listening turned towards yourself, that inner voice will become stronger, more confident in what it has to say, and will come through with more clarity.

The more often and the more lovingly we listen to ourselves and our own intuition, the clearer they will come through. As we now know, listening is an incredible tool to transform any relationship. It brings about acknowledgement, respect, trust, healing, and love. And it creates a space for understanding the true human condition, both that of yourself and of others. Now let's do some honest reflection.

How well are you listening to others? From your most intimate relationships to those you may only meet once. When another person speaks to you, are you putting yourself in their shoes, dissolving into their world, and seeking to understand why they want to tell you this? Or are you thinking of your own response so that you can seem smart, quick, witty, or wise? When you speak to someone else, which of these kinds of listeners would you prefer to be talking to?

The listener who's half listening and half thinking of their own response? Or the listener who's truly seeking to understand you? Friends, we can all be better listeners. So consider what you can shift within yourself when another person is speaking to be a better recipient of what it is their sharing. And when it comes to yourself,

How often do you quiet your own mind and listen to your own heart? If you feel resistance when listening to your true desires, perhaps there's a fear of what you may hear or feel, could you try to approach that with curiosity rather than judgment and trust that your intuition is always leading you in the right direction? If your inner voice guides you towards a major life change or anything that feels too big, Just pause before you object to it outright.

Listen with curiosity. Maybe it's on to something after all, and you should give it deeper consideration. Leave nothing off the table and feel the freedom to continue exploring what your own voice has to say before you do anything about it. There are very few decisions and actions

that have to be taken right away. You've always got time to listen and think through things. Listening in its deepest sense is a beautiful understanding that you can integrate and share with the people you love. We all should be eager to become a better listener because it will help us connect more deeply to ourselves and other people, improving not only our own lives, but everyone else's. We'll be more understanding and forgiving. And remember that the better you are listening, the better you are learning,

and the better you're loving. So whatever happens today, choose to listen deeply. Listen for understanding and not just to make a clever response. And when you do choose to speak, do it with purpose. I'm sure that listening and speaking in this way

will lead to better and more enlightening conversations. After all, one of the best things about life is truly connecting with yourself and other people. Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if you did, consider leaving a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It really helps to spread the show to new listeners,

and it would mean the world to me. I'll talk to you next week, and until then, go out and have an absolutely fantastic day.