Goal Check

This school year, one of my goals has been to be more active listener.  Which can be really hard, at least for me.  See, my ADHD is both a blessing and a curse, especially in the area of listening.

The curse of my ADHD is that as I'm listening to you speak, my brain is filling with ideas to support you, brainstorms that will enhance what you're describing, and solutions to the problems you're describing.  Which can make it really hard to focus on what you're actually saying.

The blessing of my ADHD is that as I'm listening to you speak, my brain is filling with ideas to support you, brainstorms that will enhance what you're describing, and solutions to the problems you're describing.

See what I mean?

Because this is one of my professional goals, the first one on my goals for the year, actually, I've focused a lot of energy on practicing active listening.

And you know something?

It's finally starting to get less effortful.  My action steps include making eye-contact with the speaker, waiting through pauses instead of automatically assuming they're done speaking, and paying attention to the cues in the conversation - both spoken and unspoken.

Am I always an active listener?  Am I always focused on what the speaker is saying instead of thinking ahead?  Nope.  But I'm getting closer and closer with every conversation!