Do You Listen to Yourself?
Do you communicate with yourself? I’m not asking if you are crazy, as in “do you talk to yourself?” I’m really wondering if you listen to yourself.
My question is prompted by a recent chat I had with Jep Enck. You may remember him. He is one of the experts that responds to our communication cases (read his response) and I introduced him in a previous blog (See blog on Troublesome Communication).
I’ve always thought that listening was the most important communication skills. After talking to Jep, I realized that when I am thinking about listening, I’m focusing on the listening skill that builds good relationships. Jep Enck (go to Jep’s website) got me thinking about the importance of listening to yourself in order to achieve a sense of balance and fulfillment. After all, one’s own good health is a prerequisite to establishing positive relationships.
When Jep says “Listen to yourself,” he’s talking about listening to your body as well as your thoughts or “inner voice.” He told me that when he was in his 30’s he was diagnosed with a terminal virus that affected his voice box. What a wake up call! His body was, indeed, sending him a message.
When he discovered that his ailment was closely related to a stress hormone, he began researching antidotes to stress. At first he focused on humor and exercise. Later, he learned about yoga and meditation. Then, with a background in management consulting, he studied therapy, learning from great minds including those of Stephen Covey, Andrew Weil, and Deepak Chopra. He moved into the field of personal coaching, where he knew he had a lot to offer.
What I want to tell you is that he developed a Balance Survey (you can find it on his website) which helps his clients gain insights about possible stress and imbalance in their life. It’s a useful tool to discover how ones values relate to the use of time, energy and money.
I encourage you to give it a try. It is not copyrighted, and Jep is happy to share it. I think you will find it to be a fun survey, especially because when you completing the survey you are writing about your favorite subject – yourself!
Watch this space and on another day I’ll share with you what Jep has learned after reviewing over 200 surveys and working with so many people individually.
Signing off,
Carolyn Shadle, Ph.D.and John Meyer, Ph.D.
ICS Workplace Communication, Carolyn Shadle, PhD, and John Meyer, PhD
