Why Do We Have 2 Ears & 1 Mouth?

Why Do We Have 2 Ears & 1 Mouth?

Epictetus, the Greek Philosopher [WHO is more famous for being a slave in Rome & got freed only after Nero's death] has always been well quoted Why Do We Have 2 Ears & 1 Mouth?  To quote him, we got those so that WE CAN LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS WE SPEAK. BUT the $64 question is:  Is that prevailing most of the time in our daily lives [and around us]???  I really seriously doubt it❗❗❗

And I vividly remember those same words from my grandma [during her waning years].  I even recall this frank [BUT alas, realistic] unsolicited advice:  STOP TELLING PEOPLE YOUR BUSINESS.  SOME PEOPLE TALK TO YOU SO THEY CAN TALK ABOUT YOU.  Sounds true?  Me thinks, there is more truth than fiction in that statement.  So, you might ask:  HOW CAN I STOP TELLING PEOPLE and WHEN SHOULD I KNOW I AM AN OVER-SHARER?  YES, there is that gray line.  WHAT we can do is to pay attention to small things, especially WHEN the exchange veers towards becoming one-sided.  Brevity-wise, think about your PRIVACY.  DON'T share it.  NOT to be cynical, an ill-intentioned one can use it against you❌❌❌

As we do have our strengths and weaknesses, WHERE possible, DON'T share your weakness [WHO knows it may be used against you in the future].  YESSSS, we are entitled to celebrate milestone successes and achievements BUT prior to that, DON'T share as to WHEN you'll start it.  That's just a NO-NO.  NOT even your future plans [UNLESS you are 1000000000% cocksure about its success]!@#$%?

YES, this reminds me of this scenario.  Have you ever been to the wilderness [that could be a hike] WHEN you just stopped and made a point to listen to the sounds of nature?  Less than a year ago, I was in those circumstances WHEN we went hiking at the remote Nunobiki Falls up there in Kobe, Japan.  That was quite an overdue realization for me but as the old cliche goes, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  Let's give more credence [and importance] to LISTENING.  It can be just as rewarding and even hearing a different BUT valuable insight [and often, from a different perspective from yours] can lead you to gain a deeper understanding of things you may [still] be unaware of].  And if it's about feedbacking, it may trigger an idea OR initiative to improve things.  I recall WHEN I resided in Singapore for 8 years, even a tiny, nondescript shop will have a stack of FEEDBACK FORMS atop the nook of their sales counter [and I'll say that 90% of the time, I spent time sharing my feedback [BTW - in most cases, they were positive ones].  Regardless, by sharing that feedback, I am optimistic that our 2 ears and 1 mouth are used MORE proportionately😄😄😄