Life Lesson #0003: Listening

None of us is as good a listener as we think we are.  If you are prone to always trusting what you hear, you are going to be mistaken at times.  Next time you think you’ve heard something offensive, awful, or otherwise upsetting… remember that you may have heard the wrong thing. Language is imperfect at communicating true meaning, and hearing is equally imperfect in its role in communication. So many offenses have been taken because somebody overheard somebody else saying something and relaying it falsely to somebody else… etc.  Simple solution: listening requires clarification.  Ask questions until you know what you’ve heard.  5 billion potential fights… resolved.