Listening Genuinely

My diabetes specialist:

“If your body keeps doing this*, eventually you are going to become quite a dull person.” 
Why did this freshly motivate my blood sugar control more than the usual “do it or die” factors? Simply put - because this hurts me where I live. I define myself by the ability to genuinely listen. To feel what’s being said as much as hearing it. To respond attentively. Authentically. 

To what extent do you know what that’s like?

What if you tell a story but when you attempt to summon the ending it’s not there? Instead, it’s winded and wheezing at the back of your addled brain? What if, when you listen to someone, that spark in your eye is gone that usually lets them know that they are the only people in the world to you at that moment?
These are the tools, gifts, and magical elements of creating empathy, building trust, and developing a team of people to do impossibly great things! You can do all manner of activities to keep sharp right? Exercise, read, listen to podcasts, write, and try new things outside your comfort zone.

But what if your brain is presented with all these wonderfully stoked muses of fire but simply exhales and goes:
‘meh…what’s for lunch?’

My question to you is this. If you still possess the faculty to completely listen to someone, why wouldn’t you use it? Those moments when we feel truly listened to, and are responded to by somewhere that has really taken on what, and how, we’ve said it, are the moments that stay with us, and light up our own stories. 

Be there for your friends, your customers, and your colleagues. 

#Authenticity means valuing your focus and using it (while you still can).

#employerbranding #diabetes #talentaquisition #marketing

*Hypo-ing - where blood sugar reduces below 4mmol