Have you ever over heard a conversation and thought you knew what they were talking about only to find out later that you heard incorrectly?
How long did you go before realizing that what you initially heard was wrong? How did your perception of things, people, life change? (or did it?)
So take a trip with me to February 2014. I was invited to speak at a High School Leadership Retreat and their theme was SuperHeroes.
The night before the talk, I had the privilege of sitting in on their last minute meeting/team preparations. Seated in the corner of the room, I was merely an observer who was looking for any last minute things I could add to the talk to make it even more impactful. I didn’t have to wait too long. As the students got into their assigned SuperHero groups, I overheard a couple of students yelling “Hot Guy!” This made me laugh and I thought to myself “for students who just met each other, they are pretty bold/upfront. That girl just referred to her partner as ‘Hot Guy.’”
I continued to observe them in their groups when my eyes began scanning the various signs that had each SuperHero’s name on it. As it turns out, my ears heard “Hot Guy” when in reality it was “Hawkeye!”
Apparently I’m not the only kid on the block who mishears things.
Check out this hilarious video on misheard song lyrics!
Jimmy Fallon tweeted about #misheardlyrics and this is what came of it….
There is even a website that is dedicated to misheard song lyrics.
The thing is, what we hear can change our whole perspective, demeanour, and attitude towards someone or something. Insert mishearing something. Suddenly something that was insignificant is significant; something easy is hard; someone is guilty when they are innocent, etc. I wonder how many fights, backlash, and frustration are a result of mishearing something….miscommunication.
This brings up the notion of hard work.
There are certainly things that require effort, intention, and time-certain things that require energy that we don’t think we have and resilience beyond what we think we can muster. However, consider the fact that the things that most believe is hard work (like living a fulfilled life, finding a romantic partner, making your dreams come true, overcoming challenging circumstances, etc.) quite possibly is a case of mishearing something.
See, I believe that living a fulfilled life, finding a romantic partner, making your dreams come true, overcoming challenging circumstances is not hard work, it’s heartwork.
And just like broken telephone, heartwork became handwork and it just never got corrected…until now.The things that truly matter in life may be hard at times, but they always have to do with the condition of our hearts. Are we open/close to new opportunities, perspectives, and ways of being? Are we receptive/unreceptive to feedback whether positive or negative? Are we willing/unwilling to do the right thing, take the next step, and apologize first?
Life is about HEART WORK and at the centre of our heart is our EAR…
So folks, my challenge to you and I is to LISTEN UP and more importantly LISTEN WELL…our sanity, happiness, peace is depending on it.
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