You must have come across the term "motivational speaker" very often off late. Someone who inspires the audience to achieve their goals, follow their passions, and never give up. And then there are TED Speakers, experts and experienced individuals sharing their life encounters with an audience. It would be safe to say, as a society we are obsessed with "speaking up." The proliferation of social media platforms has alongside helped amplify our voices.
However, with this obsession we have put in the backseat a key skill that we learn first and foremost since the time we are born. "Listening" The first life skill that we learn gradually over the years stays limited to the idea of "hearing" which is starkly different from listening.
Hearing is incidental, it is a physical process where any sound falling on your your ear drums is picked up and processed. Listening is a conscious decision that an individual makes - it is a mental process where you mentally are engaged and committed to the other person's story.
Mental health is closely intertwined with the balance that we, as a society must maintain between our listening and speaking. Everyone has a story to tell, a breakup to get over, a nagging boss to crib about but not many commits to provide a listening ear.
I encourage everyone reading this article to join me in the endeavour to become a "motivational listener." Be the one who can transform the other just by listening to their story and providing a sounding board which reflect back their voice.