Excerpt from:

 

Body Mind Soul Money

 

Day #13 Listen More Than You Talk.

Sarah was always interrupting. Her friends would tell this joke;

“Knock. Knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Interrupting cow.”

“Interrupting cow…”  “Sarah!”

 

She overheard it and was devastated. She asked one friend if it was true and before he could finish his diplomatic explanation she had interrupted again! He got angry and said “Sarah just please listen!”

To lighten the mood and apologize for her rudeness Sarah showed up at his party that weekend wearing duct tape over her mouth with the words “I’m just listening.” printed on it. She got a few laughs and decided to keep it on for a while. As the night progressed she wandered from room to room, listening to the conversations.

She learned that one of her friends was going to have a baby and that another was getting divorced; things they had not told her because before they got to that point in the conversation she had changed the subject or moved on to a livelier one.

She heard details about her friends that she never would have known if she had been the one talking. She made up her mind not to interrupt and grew much closer to a few of her friends as a result.

 

Sarah is an entertainer. She likes to be sure that people are listening and that there is no dead air in her conversations. She has a habit of thinking ahead so she can fill the space and entertain her friends so they don’t get bored and walk away. The problem was they recognized that she wasn’t really listening and walked away anyway.

Sarah has worked hard to kick her interrupting habit and develop a better view of her self worth. She now knows that her friends love her and that a lull in conversation doesn’t mean she isn’t witty and fun.

 

Meditation: Please give my ears the pleasure of someone else’s words and my mind the ability to learn from them. I will answer questions when asked and be available with interesting stories and jokes if the opportunity arises but I will not take that opportunity away from others.

 

Money:

Join your local chamber of commerce as a community member. You will have access to the greatest minds in your town; hanging out with business owners can improve your cash flow as well, as you will hear of new opportunities before anyone else.

Menu for day thirteen:

Breakfast: One container low fat yogurt and an apple, coffee or tea.

Lunch: One cup of vegetarian vegetable soup with a salad. (Salsa makes a great low fat dressing!)

Dinner: Small grilled steak with Worcestershire sauce, green beans, a cup of chicken bouillon with shredded celery soup

You can have one sugar free Fudgesicle before bed to satisfy a chocolate urge! (Sleep will keep you from craving more!)

Bodywork: Practice WISDOM.   You may find your clothes fit better than they have in a while. Try new combinations of things you own but usually don’t wear.

Howard-Hirsch Publishing

Content for a contented life.

 

Mind:

Using your non-dominate hand will help you think differently. Spend five minutes every day writing with the hand you don’t normally use. (Maybe for your daily to do list)