in MY heart
I heard it all the time growing up, Heather stop talking so much, your distracting the class (from my 6th grade teacher). Heather get off the phone we’re late (from my mother;). At my first jobs - waiting tables, I loved chatting with the customers and hearing their stories. In my 20s my most favorite job was being a bartender. I learned so much because I heard so much. I love to engage with people, I’m so curious about their thoughts, and their beliefs.
It’s the reason why I love to travel and have crazy adventures, to engage with people of different cultures, with different viewpoints and different outlooks on life is so intriguing to me. I love asking hard questions, I love digging deep into the human soul and heart, you will always uncover stories of hope, triumph, success and strength! It's empowering, it’s motivational, it’s inspirational!
One thing that always struck me as so important when talking to people is the difference between listening to respond in a conversation versus listening to understand. We can’t learn and grow and embrace the collective community unless we know how to listen. And while it may seem like an obvious thing to do, it’s actually pretty hard. For one thing, it requires being truly present in the conversation. Because of technology and our constant access to it, we have to really want to be present. Our phones can often feel like the third person in the room, or a kid tugging at our sleeve for attention and like our kids, we usually cave. As soon as we divert attention from the present conversation, we are lost and whatever our response is will merely be a response, it will not contain empathy and understanding, because we allowed ourselves to fall out of the moment and the receipt of information. Being present, learning to listen, these are muscles we have to work every day and just like with leg day, there are exercises we can do.
Here is a link to a TEDtalk that gives you great insight to the art of listening! Take a moment find a quite space and check it out!!
With launching in MY head, I make this promise to you: this will always be a podcast where we welcome a beautiful blend of views and beliefs from all walks of life. Where people engage in a true dialogue, exchanging ideas and maybe even sometimes this may generate tension, but we will always remain present and lean in from a place of true understanding and empathy. We will not tolerate hate or indifference and we will push ourselves outside of our respective comfort zones to evolve and grow.
Please join me in this new chapter where we can all help shape the conversation and focus our energy on listening to understand.
in MY heart is available on Spotify and iTunes with new episodes every Tuesday. Our first episode will feature the wonderful and beautiful Tina Knowles Lawson.
#podcastlife #podcast #inMyhead
in MY heart is available on Spotify and iTunes with new episodes every Tuesday. Our first episode will feature the wonderful and beautiful Tina Knowles Lawson.