I spent all of my life seeking the approval of others, first parents, then friends, teachers, bosses and now even on Facebook. I have told others through the years that you cannot please everyone, so you have to please yourself. At this point I suppose I might have to follow my own advice. For the first time, I realize how difficult that is for me to do.
One thing I have learned from an old sailor I had training classes with decades ago is to listen to people, yet another thing I knew, but failed to practice for years. That is never easy for a man to do. It is unnatural for a man to just listen. Most women do it naturally. Those that don't are usually very unpopular. A majority of women will listen to a man as he complains about sports, work, people he works with and the woman he is living with at the time. Men usually start offering solutions before a woman is finished with what she wants to say.
One thing I learned quite by accident is this: it is easier to learn what people think just by listening to them rather than questioning them. It seems to me that people like to talk, but don't like to answer questions. It is true that you learn by listening, not by talking.
Joyce has told me that when she worked as a customer service representative that the best thing to do when someone calls with a complaint is to listen to the customer, let him/her say what they want (that takes the wind out of their sails) and then offer what can be done to take care of the problem. Joyce is a wise woman. I didn't just marry her for her looks, although her looks did not detract from her character.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2026 and beyond.
One thing I have learned from an old sailor I had training classes with decades ago is to listen to people, yet another thing I knew, but failed to practice for years. That is never easy for a man to do. It is unnatural for a man to just listen. Most women do it naturally. Those that don't are usually very unpopular. A majority of women will listen to a man as he complains about sports, work, people he works with and the woman he is living with at the time. Men usually start offering solutions before a woman is finished with what she wants to say.
One thing I learned quite by accident is this: it is easier to learn what people think just by listening to them rather than questioning them. It seems to me that people like to talk, but don't like to answer questions. It is true that you learn by listening, not by talking.
Joyce has told me that when she worked as a customer service representative that the best thing to do when someone calls with a complaint is to listen to the customer, let him/her say what they want (that takes the wind out of their sails) and then offer what can be done to take care of the problem. Joyce is a wise woman. I didn't just marry her for her looks, although her looks did not detract from her character.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2026 and beyond.
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