You never know where scanning on social media will take you. Recently, I saw a post from a Patient Advocate colleague Lori Schellenberg that caught my eye. Her post said – the willingness to listen is the biggest and most important action we can take! I clicked on a link that took me to a Facebook Page; English Literature & Linguistics. The link shared a story about Viktor Frankl. Frankl is one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century. Frankl survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. He wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, one of those life-changing books everyone should read. The passage he wrote reminded me never to underestimate the power of listening.
Here is the passage:
“A woman called him in the middle of the night to calmly inform him she was about to commit suicide. Frankl kept her on the phone and talked her through her depression, giving her reason after reason to carry on living. Finally, she promised she would not take her life, and she kept her word.
When they later met, Frankl asked which reason had persuaded her to live.
“None of them,” she told him. What then influenced her to go on living, he pressed.
Her answer was simple; it was Frankl’s willingness to listen to her in the middle of the night. A world in which there was someone ready to listen to another’s pain seemed to her a world in which it was worthwhile to live.
Often, there are more brilliant arguments that make the difference, but many times it is the small act of listening that is the greatest gift we can give.”
The story made me more aware of the power of listening and reminded me that I must be more mindful of the power of listening.
I hope everyone reading this post will realize how important listening is. And how doing so can make a difference in someone’s life because you took the time to listen.
Thanks for reading this post. Have a good week!
Good one! Listening is a priceless gift. By truly hearing others, we validate their experiences, build trust, and foster genuine connections. it’s not only about hearing the words that are spoken; but about understanding the emotions that are behind them. In this noisy world in which we live, sometimes we can do far more, with far less. Everyone is capable of listening. All it takes is a choice to do it.
Thanks so much for another brilliant reminder of the power of listening. Victor Frankl’s book is life-changing and should be read yearly to reinforce exactly what we are as Human Beings.
Listening is powerful! All of us want to be heard and it’s a gift when we listen and are listened to.
Thanks for another meaningful post Anne.
Anne,
In our fast paced lives of today, we sometimes don’t realize just how important it is to TAKE TIME TO LISTEN!
Thanks for sharing and reminding us to take time to listen, which includes reading your inciteful posts.
Anne, I totally agree.
I believe we learn so much more about our patients when we take the time to be listen. I also believe that allowing silence gets us so much more.
So many people rush to fill the silence whereas when we allow the pause, the other person often reveals even more that will help us to understand and help them.
When we listen, we introduce caring, empathy and feeling into the conversation.