Communication ~ Its one of the true keys to success

Wow, keeping a blog is not easy.  This last week was BUSY and I feel a little guilty for not updating my blog.  As I look back on my week of busyness.  I realize that there is one thing that jumps out at me.  The skill of communication.  Now before I go off on a rant about communication let me share that  communication is one of the many skills that I need to work on.  I am not the best communicator.  I can communicate when I am forced into a situation of communication but for the most part I am a loner and would prefer to sit quietly at home.
Throughout the week I have noticed that people either choose not to communicate or they think they are communicating but it really isn't taking place.

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” 
― George Bernard Shaw

Too many times this week I have witnessed people who get upset and because they are mad at situations or others they just choose to not communicate.  They get stuck in a spot and instead of trying to figure out a solutions they become passive aggressive with their communication   Communication becomes their tool for gaining leverage over others.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." —Proverbs 12:18

 The total breakdown of communication becomes a choice.  This is no way to live.  We will never survive with our daily life if we make choices to punish others by just not speaking to them.  This situation usually stems from a person hearing what they want to and not actually listening to the situation at hand.  Nothing more frustrating then trying to help someone and because of their frustration they will only hear what they want to hear.  As a teacher of mathematics this happens nearly every week.  I see tons of students who become so frustrated with the subject at hand that they completely shut down and refuse to be an active communicator.  This, however is not just a adolescence issue.  It happens in the work place within families and it is the Poisson that keeps relationships from prospering.
Another reason for not communicating with others is the fear of being accepted.   This week I have watched as people in my life have chosen to not communicate with others due to a fear of not being accepted.  One of the major causes of this fear is the change in our form of communication from the spoken work to the electronic word.  The electronic word has made it so much easier to speak freely   Now this may seem like a great positive thing and in some cases it can be.  However, what I have noticed is that the skill of "face to face" communication has declined significantly within the past 5 years.  Our children are loosing the art of speaking to one another freely.  I am not stuck in an age where I believe that we should get away from the the electronic word however I do believe that speaking face to face is a vital skill that many of our young people are loosing.
Communication is absolutely one of the major keys to success in any venture.  I know that I have a ton of work to do in this area and at times I become frustrated or just tired of communicating.  My youth basketball taught me a great lesson this last weekend.  We were playing in a local tournament and facing teams much bigger and even more skilled than we were however, we were able to go undefeated in the first two days of competition due to our ability to communicate on the floor.  It was really an inspiring event to watch as an entire team of 8th grade boys decided to push aside their fears of not being accepted.  They choose to communicate in a collective and individual strong loud voice for the betterment of the group.  This bold jump of faith in each other and willingness to communicate gave each of them the confidence in each other to over come other teams and in the long run gain success.  Parents were coming up and congratulating us on our play and it really boiled down to two major things.  Maximum effort and COMMUNICATION.  It was a great lesson people of any age.

Hopefully it won't take another week for me to "communicate" my thoughts in the blog.

Lord,
Help me to be the best communicator I can be.  Don't let me become lazy or passive when it comes to others and their desire to communicate with me.  Help me to value people by being an active listener and focusing on them and not so much on me.  Bless me this week Lord so that I may bring a smile to your face and help me to server you by serving others.

Love in Christ,
Scott