We all want to be smart, right? We also all want to engage in good habits. Today, I want to tell you about one habit that you can get into that will help make you smarter! Well, at least it will help you gain more information, and be better informed. It will also make you appear smarter to people.
What am I talking about?
Listening.
That’s right, listening. Nobody ever gained any knowledge while talking. We can gain knowledge if we listen, though! Not all information that we listen to will make us better informed, but it is our brains that can weigh the information and decide if the information is useful or not. If we do not listen, we won’t have a chance to even evaluate the information that others are trying to tell us.
Listening, but is the message getting through?
If you are having a conversation with another person, the only way to gain more information is by closing your mouth, stopping your talking, and instead by listening to what the other person is saying. When you listen, you are gaining additional information. After you listen to that information and process it, your mind may tell you that the information is of no value, is incorrect or somehow is not useful. When your mind gives you this information after analyzing the information that you heard, then you can decide whether to retain the information, or to simply dispose of it.
Always try to listen, you will be rewarded!
However, if you don’t listen in the first place, you will garner no additional information.
If you listen to a person and he tells you information that is false, or in some way flawed, it is good to even get that kind of information. Why would it be good to get false or flawed information? Because it helps you decide if you should continue to rely on that person for advice or further information. If a certain person consistently provides you with faulty information, it is a good indicator that it is not worth your time to listen to that person any longer. In fact, not only can you stop listening, but you are wasting your time to even engage in conversation with that person, because you cannot rely on what they tell you in future conversations either.
By listening, not only are you gaining a chance to receive additional information, but you are showing other people that you are smart. Others, when they have a chance to talk to you and be heard, will come to value you more, because they will realize that you are there to actually hear what they say. If they are giving your valuable and accurate information in your exchange, you will act on that information, and they will see that they are wisely spending their time with you. By showing them this, they will come to value you, and feel that they are as valuable to you as you are to them. It’s a give and take relationship where each of you can benefit the other.
Try hard to engage your ears before your mouth. That is what a smart person does, and you want to be smart, right?
Very right!, besides showing respect and making yourself look smart, you always can learns things from people and diferent points of view by listening respectfully, what is essential to be able to contrast and have a tougher idea and opinions about a topic or any theme, that's really a smart habit, totally agree!.
Very true, Sito!