Empathic Listening

4.2.2 Begin with the end in Mind

Mohandas Gandhi quote “A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes....Be congruent, be authentic, be you’re true self ....Continue to grow and evolve." All things are created twice, first mentally then physically. Any projects we do, start from our mind then we put it on papers and then put them into action. A shipbuilder for instant, start by drawing the ship 's plan. He needs to visualise how his vessel is going to be by the end of the construction. High quality results come from clearly defined intentions. By contrast, poorly defined intentions tend to produce poor outcomes. Begin with the end in mind is not just thinking clearly about the finished products, it involves looking at

When another person speaks, we 're usually "listening" at one of the four levels. We may be ignoring another person, not really listening at all. We may practise pretending like “Yah, Uh, Oh I see, Right etc." We may practise selective listening, hearing only certain parts of the conservation. We may even practise attentive listening, paying attention to focusing energy on the words that are being said. But few actually practice empathic listening which is the fifth level of listening. Empathic listening is listening with intent to understand and really understand. It is about getting inside another person 's frame of reference. It is seeing the world through the lens of the other person, the same way they see they see the world and understanding how they feel. Empathy is not sympathy. Sympathy is a form of agreement, a form of judgement, which is sometimes more emotional and responsive. Empathy listening involves much more than registering, reflecting or even understanding words that are said. With empathy listening we are able to fully understand the other person 's situation after which we are in a better situation to prescribe a Win-Win

This should be in Quadrant II as described earlier in Figure 6.

Exercise is something we do not do regularly, because we do not do it sooner or later we find ourselves in Quadrant I, dealing with our health problems and crises as a result of our neglect.

Spiritual renewal takes time, as it is in Quadrant II we cannot afford to neglect. This is our private domain and people do it differently. I start and end my day with a short prayer asking God for guidance and strength. I do brisk walking along the river banks, listening to the sound made by birds and insects along the way. As I go along, things that are bordering me will come to my mind, I reflect and access what Win-Win solution that come out of the situation. How we can synergise so that everyone win? In a relax mode we think better. As I sweat, I become more energise, I feel healthier, and the overall spirit brighten