Each Monday I try to write a post that gets you thinking or motivated for the week.  I’m now officially going to call it the “Monday Motivator”.  Mondays can be tough, it’s usually a day where I need a little kick in the butt to get me going.  I’m usually either a little disappointed that the weekend is over and feeling a little behind or I’m feeling super energetic ready to tackle the week and all it’s adventures.  Either way Monday is always a great day to start fresh.

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”  ~Ralph Nichols

This week I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed from everything I have been trying to take on from my family to new work projects to just life in general.     I’ve also been feeling a little down because the busier I get the more I try to do things by myself.  And the more I try to do things by myself the more isolated I feel and less understood.  I think we all just want people to understand how we are feeling, not that we necessarily have a problem that needs to be solved.  We just want to be heard.  But what I realized this weekend is that while I need to be understood I could probably also be a better listener-for my husband, my kids, my friends.  I think when we all get caught up in our “own stuff” we forget to really listen.

So this week I am going to practice better listening, to be present versus getting wrapped up in my own thoughts or judgements.  Here are two good articles about effective listening.

Listening For Your Marriage

Listening To Your Kids

How are you feeling?  Do you feel understood?  Are you listening to your husband? Your Kids?