Hearing Aid

I am not nearly as interesting to other people as I am to myself.

Well, I personally am as interesting to other people as I am to myself; that opening statement was more of a generalization than a specific comment on my status in the world. Maybe I should have said that you are not as interesting to me as you are to yourself. That makes more sense.

"Huh," SuperK said. "I'm way more interesting to everyone, including myself, than you are," drawing no argument from me.

I try to think about the relative strengths and weaknesses of my person on the Interest-O-Meter when I'm talking to someone. Especially when I talk in front of a group of people, like at a meeting. I should talk some of the time but not every time. I should let other people talk and try to pretend that I'm interested in what they are saying, which isn't very often.

It's come to my attention that when I'm talking about myself or thinking what I'm going to say about myself that I can't possibly be listening to what you are saying.

Haven't we all thought, as we talked to someone who obviously wasn't listening to what we are saying: "This is a waste of my time." Sometimes I can barely hold my tongue to let the other person finish. If there is less than a microsecond of dead air between the end of your comment and your fellow's response, then they probably weren't listening.

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. And we have to eat with that thing, too.