DO YOU PUT BRAKES ON YOUR MOUTH?
Are you reactive by striving hard to have the last word? Or are you responsive by driving safely to have the first positive action on the two-way communicator highway?
HOW DO I TAP ON MY BRAKES WHEN I’M MOVING TOO FAST?
DO TALK, OF COURSE:
• Do tap on your brakes to slow down, when your emotions are running hot.
• Do release yourself from the prison of perfectionism.
• Do listen more than you pontificate or lecture.
• Do hear negative feedback that resolves those pesky problems which haunt you.
• Do escort the elephant in the room to outside your front door.
• Do respond authentically to others instead of using “knee-jerk-me-jerk” reactions.
• Do pull out the tree from your own eye before you point out the toothpick in the other guy’s eye.
• Do nurture yourself and reach out to others to “depressurize” when you’re stressed out.
• Do use your character values (honesty, integrity, respect) as your compass when speeding along, lost in a fog of emotion.
• Do take the cotton out of your ears, especially if you are prone to trying too hard to be right, just to save face.
• Do make every effort to change and grow on a daily basis.
• Do have the first action, instead of having the last word.
• Do be a validator, instead of a villain.
• Do remember that God gave us one mouth and two ears for a very good reason!
• Do follow good communication driving rules, especially when you don’t want to.
Travel on the two-way Communicator Highway can be, and often is, hazardous to your health. If you use the Talk Tools from your Communicator Toolbox, you will be able to circumvent those fender-benders just ahead, and you’ll know when to take a detour or a completely new route, as you head toward your destination.
Dennis O’Grady, Psy.D., is a Communication Expert and Developer of Talk2Me positive and effective communication system. His communication classes are described as “humbling, surprising, eye-opening, enlightening, valuable, intense, informative, very educational, very beneficial.” He is available to talk at (937) 428-0724.