If you talk when you must listen, you lose
I had the experience three times the past two weeks that I would give people information that I thought could benefit them only to find that their welfare and that of their business was subject to their need to be heard.
In the first instance I gave information to a superior (the one in the first post about me being laid off) but it turned out that nothing would let him deviate from his preconceived views. (This, I think, also had a lot to do with defending the power structure, but more on that in a later post)
In the second case, I wanted to explain to a family member who panicked about me being out of a job, my views on actions to be taken now that I was in this situation. (It may also be that the fact that I hold the view that my retrenchment was not actually a bad thing but was of great benefit to me, increased the panic). Nevertheless, the discussion went nowhere and in the end I gave up and listened to her “solutions” to my “problem”.
In the third example I wanted to discuss with a family member the evolution of society in a way that people have more wealth as well as more time to spend that wealth. I thought it would benefit him as he manufactures equipment that wealthy people use to enhance their leisure experience.
The moment I said people were having more wealth, I was told that the country is just getting poorer and that we were going nowhere. My protests that I was referring to the global situation and that his product could be marketed on a global scale thereby bypassing local and national difficulties, just agitated him.
How does the saying go? None is as deaf as those who do not want to hear.
For the next week I am going to LISTEN, not talk. Let’s see if that brings me insight.