FUN COMMANDMENT FIVE:
| Listen Very Carefully |
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| The most difficult thing to do when we are faced with stressful challenges is to listen very carefully. Yet it is a fact that our listening skill is our greatest asset for success.
Most people find listening difficult because they think of it as a passive state. Careful listening may be a quiet activity, but it is certainly not passive. It requires the activation of every sense— our ears, of course, but also our eyes, our touch and especially our hearts.
The goal is to first understand, before seeking to be understood.
If we are willing to listen fully to what we are hearing, we will discover information that will make us more successful. Quite often others will give us clues to the response that will be most effective.
Not only that, but when we listen intently, we will become aware of the humor in a situation that might otherwise be overlooked.
This plays right into our commitment to have as much fun as possible at all times.
The following exercise, performed daily, will increase the sensitivity of all your observational senses:
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Exercise #5: |
Read the newspaper twice.
The first time read the news, comics and whatever else
interests you. Then go back through looking for “funny” headlines
and captions.
Practice focusing just on the choice and positioning of words,
and nothing more. Suddenly amusing variations will become
apparent. You can have fun with these variations, which will be
missed by the majority of those who read them.
To give you an idea of what awaits you, here are a few
examples of headlines that I have found in my local newspaper:
“JUDGE TOLD TO RULE ON LIFE SUPPORT CASE
OF MAN ALREADY DEAD”
“KENTUCKY COUPLE CONVICTED OF FRAUD
FAILS TO APPEAR AT PRISON”
“SUING EMPLOYER CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO
YOUR CAREER”
“INDIANA PARK FEES MAY RISE—OR FALL”
“TOWN OVERWHELMED BY POLLUTION HOPES
TO BECOME NATIONAL PARK”
“THIRD TEEN IS CHARGED IN PIZZA STABBING”
“UNWANTED VASECTOMY COULD WRECK
MARRIAGE”