I’ve been having some serious discussions lately, some at Church, some with my wife, and some with my buddy. All of which have to do with one serious subject or another.
I mention this because I’ve noticed something about myself: If you disagree with me, it’s simply because I haven’t made myself clear enough.
Narcissistic? Perhaps a tad!
When I realized this, it made me think about why I might feel this way. I really don’t think it is entirely about me being so self-centered. When I stop and think about it, I know that it’s very probable that someone may hear me, understand me, and simply disagree with me. (Why, I have no idea! Ha!)
All kidding aside, though, when I reflect on the reason I struggle with this kind of thinking, I think it comes down to the fact that one of my greatest desires in life is to be clear, to be fully heard, and to be understood. Don’t we all want that? Don’t we all want to be fully heard and understood? I think we do, but often, at least in my case, that desire is accompanied with a nice, healthy dash of wanting to be right.
How important is it, in the end, for me to be right? I certainly don’t think that any conversation about politics, religion, or football draft picks is worth any amount of hurt feelings.
My wife and I have a friend who’s Russian. She’s married to a man from Poland and their two boys were born in the States. The boys speak splendid English, while Mom and Dad can only speak broken English to each other. Talk about communication barriers!
Anyway, when we talk, she’s always saying in the middle of sentences, “You understand me?”
Sometimes I feel so sad for her. Her greatest desire is to be understood.
So, I’ll continue to try to be clear, and at the end of the day, pray that whoever ends up on the receiving end of my communication gets my point.
You understand me?
Follow Scott on Twitter–@scotylang
THE SCOTT LANGDON PROJECT 