Know When to Shut Up

About a month ago, I came across a clip of a podcast on my Facebook timeline. The person being interviewed was Percy Miller (Master P). I’ve mainly followed him for his business strategies to learn how he asked the right questions and then learned the things he didn’t know to create many successful businesses over the years. As he was attempting to answer some of the questions, the person giving the interview would constantly interrupt him. He would interject and talk about what he himself has done or try to talk about his own philosophies. It got to the point where it was so bad that it just became annoying. Eventually I just randomly told my wife, Amy that I wish the person giving the interview would just shut up and let him speak. I gave her my phone so she could watch the clip and see what I was talking about. Amy and along with the hundreds of people who commented all agreed with me. What’s crazy is that we all do or have done this on numerous occasions and have not even realized it.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they were telling you about an accomplishment or something tragic in their life? Without thinking, did you find yourself in return trying to “one up” their accomplishment or tell them about a story even more tragic? Did you even realize that you were doing it? Probably not. You have to recognize that this is something that you are doing before you are even able to change the habit. Unfortunately for some, this doesn’t happen. You then become like the person giving the interview on the podcast and begin to feel the need to always give your “expert” advice when nobody even asked you for it. In moments like this, you need to learn to just shut up. You will miss out on learning and gaining the knowledge you need to help take your life to another level if you do not learn how to just listen. Imagine that you get an opportunity to have a thirty-minute conversation with someone who can literally give you information that will change your life for the better. Are you going to spend 27 minutes telling the expert everything you know and all that you have accomplished? Are you going to literally question all the things they say even though you’re the one who reached out to them for help? Why are you asking for advice if you’re not going to take it?  I’m amazed at how often this happens according to the life coaches and consultants I listen to. What you should be doing is asking specific questions that are going to help you grow and to become better. Be prepared to listen. One of the reasons why you’ve been stuck in the same position for so long is because you talk too much and just don’t listen.

Do not be the person who is always talking about some new idea or venture but never seems to follow through with it. Honestly, don’t even talk about it until it is completed. One thing I learned over the years is that a person can actually experience the feeling of accomplishment just by talking about an idea. If your satisfaction comes from talking about it instead of completing what you started, that’s a problem. It is better to show people the results of something that you have done instead of telling them about something that you might do. There is a time to speak. There is a time to listen. Know the difference and you could possibly begin to live a much better life.