Being heard - It’s the gateway to being seen and understood!
We've all been in difficult situations and felt a little misunderstood, and being able to listen is a key ingredient for successful relationships. When we are able to listen to others, and really hear what they’re saying - it creates an indelible bond of trust and understanding.
It shows that we care; it demonstrates that we’re paying attention, and can empathize with their situation. With the goal of active listening being to understand the other person's perspective.
Cycling between active listening and healthy constructive criticism can be an effective way to reach viable solutions or outcomes because it allows for open communication and collaboration between individuals or groups.
- Active listening involves fully focusing on what the other person is saying, both verbally and non-verbally, without interrupting or judging them. This approach helps to ensure that all parties involved have a clear understanding of each other's perspectives and needs.
- By actively listening, individuals can gain new insights, ideas, and information that they might not have otherwise considered. This can lead to more creative and effective solutions being developed.
Constructive criticism, on the other hand, involves providing feedback in a manner that is respectful, specific, and solution-focused. This approach is designed to help individuals or groups improve their performance, behaviors, or ideas.
- When giving advice or feedback, it's important to remember that people value the opinion of someone they know and genuinely trust - interacting free of any biases and prejudices.
When done in a healthy way, constructive criticism can help to identify areas for improvement and foster growth and development. It can also help to prevent conflicts from arising by addressing issues before they escalate.
The best thing someone can do when you feel down is to give you their full attention, and if you want to increase your chance of being heard, try listening first.
- The real problem might not be what you think it is.
Cycling between active listening and healthy constructive criticism can be particularly effective because it creates a feedback loop where each party is encouraged to contribute and improve upon each other's ideas.
- For example, one person might share an idea, and another person might ask clarifying questions to better understand the idea.
Then, they might offer some constructive criticism to improve the idea. The first person can then use that feedback to refine their idea, and the cycle can continue until a viable solution is reached.
Overall, by cycling between active listening and healthy constructive criticism, individuals or groups can collaborate more effectively, communicate more openly, and generate more creative and effective solutions.
Often we need a little space to properly express ourselves. Then when we come back together, we can listen with love and understanding. Therefore, establishing healthy psychological safety is essential throughout this process of interaction in order to form a more fully actualized pattern of behaviors.
Have you been feeling misunderstood lately?
1: Next time you're struggling to find a solution - reach out
2: Listen actively
3: Feel their emotion
4: Try to comfort them by relating back with your own experience
5: Share some constructive criticism. Offer feasible solutions
We've all been in difficult situations and felt a little misunderstood, so tell us when you need someone to hear you. Reach out if you could use a space to land and a kind, empathetic ear!
conversations@thelightinside.us
And sign up for our email for more tips, empathetic insights and kind support.
How to Turn Enemies and Adversaries into Venerated Friends
