Thursday, October 05, 2006
Fine Tune Yourself
On a five-day visit to Spain with college, we noticed that people we met seemed to get friendlier day by day. The change was striking. At first we sensed aloofness or reserve from the Spanish we met. But by the third day we felt a greater warmth. On the fourth day it followed us wherever we went. And by our trip's end we were hugging people good-bye at the airport.
Was it the people of Spain who had changed? Certainly not.
What had melted away was our uptightness. The defensive reserve created by being preoccupied by ourselves had prevented us from relaxing and absorbing the warmth that was there all along.
When we are anxious or preoccupied, we fail to notice the spakle in someone's eye, the hint of a smile or the warm tones of voice. These signals of warmth are prime opportunities to connect with people. When we are in our head, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands.
Inspired by "Social Intelligence: Daniel Goleman" and "Juggler" for his valuable lesson of: Getting out of your head.
-Aero
