To New Beginnings
I finished a book recently.
That is how I start all my recent conversations. It’s called “twelve rules of life: an antidote to chaos” by Jordan Peterson. I learnt a lot.
He followed this story telling pattern of starting with a catchy title and constantly using imagery and Anecdotes to deliver his point. For example, he’d start with the title “stand up straight with your shoulders back” then he’d spend the next few pages talking about Lobsters.
Apparently, Lobsters have this brutal dominance hierarchy that mirrors human society. Just like in humans, the same brain chemicals — octopamine and serotonin are indicators of whether one is at the bottom or top of the dominance hierarchy.
High serotonin levels indicates a bullish confident person–Top of the hierarchy. While lower serotonin levels and higher octopamine levels indicates the opposite–Bottom of the hierarchy.
That’s debatable and at the very least, interesting to me. But, that’s not my point. I got to this point where he gave advice about the best way to advice.
Apparently we don’t give the best advice talking. But, we give the best advice listening. Weird right?
Advice is unfriendly to learning, especially when it is sought.Most of the time when people seek advice, they just want to be heard. Peter Block.
According to Peterson, when you listen, you give people the best advice as you help them navigate their thoughts. Hell!! The entire hack of therapy is purely listening, suggestions and navigation.
That said being the listener, you give the speaker something–The power of thought. You give them the power to process their thoughts in logical congruency and coherence. That’s good for the speaker. If he has a good listener and a strong moral framework, He’s going to be creating something new. Or at the very least, words and thoughts he did not have beforehand.
“something out of nothing.”
Now this is not meant to be serious. I didn’t carry out any serious research for this blog and I’ll not be going too hard in subsequent ones. But, I’ve decided that I’ll be blogging regularly now. Here goes nothing.
P.S You ought to appreciate the irony of “saying” the “best advice” is “listening.”
Anxious World 