Falling in love is not an extension of one's limits or boundaries; it is a partial and temporary collapse of them.
M. Scott PeckRead
Listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work. It is because they do not realize this or because they are not willing to do the work that most people do not listen well.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Effective listening requires focused effort and attention, which many people overlook or avoid.
In this quote, M. Scott Peck emphasizes the importance of active listening as a skill that demands intentional effort and dedication. He points out that the inability to listen well stems from a lack of awareness or willingness to engage deeply with others, suggesting that true listening is more than just hearing words; it involves understanding and connecting with the speaker at a profound level.
Themes
ListeningAttentionUnderstandingCommunicationEffort
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on communication skills, you can use this quote to highlight the need for active listening.
More from M. Scott Peck
All quotes →If your goal is to avoid pain and escape suffering, I would not advise you to seek higher levels of consciousness or spiritual evolution.
M. Scott PeckRead
All my life I used to wonder what I would become when I grew up. Then, about seven years ago, I realized that I was never going to grow up--that growing is an ever ongoing process.
M. Scott PeckRead
When we love someone our love becomes demonstrable or real only through our exertion - through the fact that for that someone (or for ourself) we take an extra step or walk an extra mile. Love is not effortless. To the contrary, love is effortful.
M. Scott PeckRead
An unconscious, gentle process whereby people who want to be loving attempt to be so by telling little white lies, by withholding some of the truth about themselves and their feelings in order to avoid conflict. Pseudocommunity is conflict-avoiding; true community is conflict-resolving.
M. Scott PeckRead
Idealists are people who believe in the potential of human nature for transformation. . . . The most essential attribute of human nature is its mutability and freedom from instinct . . . it is always within our power to change our nature. So it is actually the idealists who are on the mark and the realists who are off base.
M. Scott PeckRead
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It does not matter what you know about anything if you cannot communicate to your people. In that event, you are not even a failure. You're just not there.
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The eagerness of a listener quickens the tongue of a narrator.
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Once you can clearly describe what you are reacting to, free of your interpretation or evaluation of it, other people are less likely to be defensive when they hear it.
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