“Attentiveness is showing the worth of a person or task by giving your undivided concentration.” (www.characterfirst.com)
When was the last time you sat down, looked your friend, spouse, or child in the eye and really paid attention to what they had to say? If you are like most people that doesn’t sound too difficult…until you try to do it. Most of us believe we are too busy to give that sort of attention on a regular basis. We want to talk “on the move,” while we are doing other things. We call it multi-tasking and we excuse our failure to really be attentive by saying, as well as believing, that we are so busy that a constructive use of our time is not really focusing on any one thing or person. We convince ourselves that we are better time managers when we are communicating on the move, at a shallow depth, and without any kind of real commitment. I think all that is a cop-out. Being truly attentive is something most of us just don’t want to do. We think it requires too much and may end up costing us more than we want to give. By not paying attention we can keep our distance and move along without any real commitment. Being attentive scares us to death! Yet, it is exactly what our relationships need!“ Attentiveness is showing the worth (value) of a person or task by giving your undivided concentration (attention).” Who can you give your undivided attention today, and by doing so, show them how important they are to you and how much you value your relationship with them?