With a disgusted look, Mara groaned, “That’ll never work.”

“Why not?” asked Dontarious.

“For one thing, it’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”

Dontarious scratched his head. “What’s so dumb about it?”

“The first thing that comes to mind is that you came up with it. Have you ever had a good idea?”

Smiling, Dontarious said, “I married you!”

“Go ahead,” Mara scoffed. “Make jokes! Do whatever you want. You’ll just have to find out the hard way that it won’t work. You never listen to me anyway.”

Sidestepping dejection and ignoring his wife’s criticisms, Dontarious said, “Well, as always, I appreciate your thoughts and support,” and kept on rollin’ with his original plan.

~~~~~~~~~~

Are you a good listener? That’s great!

Have you perfected truly hearing what others have to say? Even better!

Remarkable leaders are exceptional listeners who make people feel heard, understood, and valued. That is an outstanding skill that often leads to relational rewards.

We can probably all agree that listening is a good thing. But, “listening” does not mean we must absorb constant beratement, negativity, and criticisms of others.

It’s difficult to prevent cruel comments from penetrating our souls. If we can learn to hear menacing words and not give all words equal footholds in our lives, we will become better, more consistent, and impactful leaders.