Don’t go around bragging about yourself. If you have really done something great, let your action speak for itself. That will have more impact than blowing your own trumpet. If there is one thing that people really value in life, it is: what you do for them. And, if you do something great that touches their lives, you don’t need to tell them what you have done for them. They will endorse it in the heart of their hearts even if they don’t acknowledge it on your face, out of envy.
Be a good listener. Listening is an art. Learn to listen carefully when people speak. Be all ears when great souls speak. Many a conversation gets derailed because we don’t listen carefully. As someone said: We listen to respond—not to understand. That might sound strange. But that is true. In fact, I would go a step further and say that we actually react to what we hear. We do not even respond properly to what is being said.
There’s another reason why we should be more focused when we are listening to somebody. Because, as Dalai Lama revealed: When we speak, we are repeating what we already know. But when we listen, we learn something new…’
We human beings are always in a great hurry to react! We fail to understand that questions need responses. Situations need to be responded to. But, for some reason, we are in such a hurry to react to a question or situation that we forget that what the question or situation only demands is a response—not a reaction. We are impulsive by nature. We take everything personally. So, if someone complains against something, we assume that the person is speaking up against us. Sometimes, we fail to see the cause of the complaint.
For best results, we need to observe more rather than reacting impulsively. A little more observation can lead to more clarity. If the situation is absolutely clear to us, our response would be attuned to that. We may be able to achieve greater success through appropriate response to the situation.
If we keep these four laws in our mind and move forward, we are sure to be on our path to personal growth and success.
