Why is it so hard to restrain ourselves from blurting out or from the “stream of our consciousness”? Perhaps its our ego trying to attract attention, maybe we are mindlessly venting, or perhaps were not thinking about the wider ramifications of our apparent small talk. But the ability to “hold our tongue” well find, is a very useful skill, in any number of contexts... both professional and personal. Think about the times, for instance, when an unfiltered quip revealed just how little thought went into it, or which may have inadvertently broadcast an underlying small-mindedness or lack of knowledge. What about the times when we might have passed on unsubstantiated rumours – “so-and-so is morally reprehensible”, “your boss is in trouble, it’s time to switch allegiances!”, and so on... Only to discover later that there was hardly any truth in them. This is particularly apparent at the workplace, where people may make baseless criticisms about others to hurt them or to sabotage their careers. In many highly-regarded literary works, dark entities also often use fell words and negative verbal persuasion to fill their adversaries’ hearts with resignation and dread. If you’re good at your job, people will know. Dont allow what others are saying to affect your self-esteem or your own assessment. Criticism, no matter how unconstructive they may seem, often hold hidden tips that we can use to improve our work, but you and I are fairly adept at filtering out the genuinely malicious ones. It’s often not what we say which distinguishes us from the rest, but what we dont say. It takes a courageous and enlightened person to hear a rumour and not pass it on. As supervisors train themselves to listen more and say less, it also helps them better distinguish among malignancy, casual conversation or serious concern. Of course, we dont want to shackle ourselves to the extent that it curtails spontaneity and creativity. And certainly sometimes we let our tongues loose in jest. But during those other times when our remarks might have wider ranging influence or consequence, perhaps a little more restraint and research might serve us better.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 06:37:54 +0000
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