The light went on.........

[isiahstites]

Since my daughter was born I have noticed a shift in the way I think. The shift was one of the reasons I have gone back to school. Amazingly, I find myself hearing things that I have never heard before, it is almost like at the age of 32 I have finally grown-up. With this new found hearing and openess has come a much better understanding of day to day things that I might run across.

I have had several ahhh-haaa moments where it just made sense or "the light went on" so to speak.

My first moment worth mentioning is my signature......."Never argue with an idiot, people can not tell the difference." This one hit me like a ton of bricks! My current superior is not the brightest star in the sky and I always felt he was trying to start stuff with me so he could flex his authority muscle, I always openly accepted this as a challenge to try and outwit him (which is not hard) or get him back by showing him he was an idiot. After reading the above statement one day I realized that even those people know he is a pain in the ass and he has his Darwin moments that when I was going at it with him I was no better than him and that they could not tell who was the idiot! Since the moment I read that statement I have completely dis-engaged from taking part in these arguments with him. After a few weeks he quit as well when he realized he was just beating a dead horse and that I was not going to rebuttle his remarks. Our working relationship has been one of peace since then, amazing the power of words strung together in a sentence......I go home from work happy everyday now.

The second thing that caused a light to go off was this evening when I was reading some of my course work for the week. I was reading about effective listening and came across this statement.......Seek first to understand, then to be understood. I have already been trying to be a better listenter at home, work and day to day life and after reading that line it made sense. In order for someone to understand your viewpoint on a subject you must first understand there viewpoint in order to effectively communicate your viewpoint.

So I thought I would share a few of the things I have read that caused the light to go on and I ask if you could share a few moments in your life when you "got something."


Good evening,
Scott

[Sir Limpsalot]

Scott, there is plenty of room here for this sort of thing. Best of all I'm learning along with you, without doing the hard work!

Cheers,
Si.

[JCsman]

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Good one, Scott. One of the more glaring weaknesses (in a host of others :icon_redface:) that I need to work on more diligently.

[panthercity]

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, 'God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
God led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
God said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
It is simple,' said God, 'It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves!'

[isiahstites]

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, 'God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
God led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
God said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
It is simple,' said God, 'It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves!'

Thank you for posting this! The message is simple, but very powerful.

Scott

[1MPH]

You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves!'


Nice one Panther.
I have found that here at the Cafe' the members share their knowledge and themselves more than most.

[isiahstites]

Nice one Panther.
I have found that here at the Cafe' the members share their knowledge and themselves more than most.


True....:pftroest:

[SV Andy]

Scott and Panther thankyou, i realy must try to keep this thread in mind. Cheers Andy.

[jamming]

Scott, I've thought alot about your post. I had babies late in life. I was 42 when Colby was born and 17 months later Piper came along. I've not regretted it. Terrie and Logan came as a pair and he IS my Son..period.

Things changed for me a bit when Terrie and I got together. I had a family. When Colby was born I walked away from skydiving all together. Something that since I was 17 was a major influence in my life. That and motorcycles and airplanes. 3 things that can be dangerous. I'll never quit riding or flying so jumping had to go.

In thousands of jumps I had a few malfunctions, but worked through them. I came to the conculsion that something had to go and that was jumping. I'd be lying if I said I don't miss it. I do.

My ahhh-haaa moment happened at about 10,000 feet in freefall about 2 weeks after Colby's birth. That was it for me. Sold the chutes, gear, walked away. Skydiving is inherently dangerous, but the risks are manageable. The gear we have now is so good, malfunctions are very rare, but they happen. So do motorcycle accidents. I had to cut my risk factor and motorcycles are my first love.

Look forward to buying you a beer someday Scott.

[isiahstites]

Look forward to buying you a beer someday Scott.

Thanks, I to look forward to meeting up with you.

Scott

[Griffon]

I've been working very hard to blunt the edge of a sharp tongue. It isn't easy, and I still struggle to suffer fools gladly. Frequently, I fail horribly. About a year ago, I read an excellent book called "Verbal Judo" by George Thompson. Thompson was an academic who studied martial arts since childhood. He joined the police force in his mid-thirties and struggled with a lot of the same argumentative tendencies. The book is a distillation of the lessons learned through bitter experience. I'm probably about due for a re-read, since enough time has gone by that I've forgotten too much of it and need a refresh. It's a quick read, and shouldn't interfere overmuch with familial, scholastic, or other obligations.:)

[panthercity]

...I have found that here at the Cafe' the members share their knowledge and themselves more than most.
As have I. Which is a pretty good trick seein' as how some of those spoons stretch half-way `round the world.

[Donson]

Hey Panther,where the heck is Willow Park? Just wondered.

[NakedRider]

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, 'God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
God led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
God said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
It is simple,' said God, 'It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves!'

Perfect timing. Just reading this today and you can bet I'm passing it on.

[DarthRider]

Hey Panther,where the heck is Willow Park? Just wondered.

A little West of Fort Worth, By-God Texas...