Can You Hear Me Now?

In the past few years, the way we communicate has expanded so much that it has affected everything we do. A lot of the processes we use to communicate are not new. Think about it; the first telephone was invented in 1876, the first television in 1925, and the first computer 1939. They have all been retooled for efficiency and entertainment and are more and more frequently combined into one small hand held device.

We also communicate through various forms of writing. Do you text? Do you use email? Are you a writer? Do you Tweet? And how does the person receiving your message process this information?

Even in-person communication has more than one option these days. You can speak on-on-one, to a group or mastermind, or through an IM program like Skype. I was sharing tips on social media with one of my mentors today through Skype. She could see what I was doing on my screen and hear me, but I could not hear her. Were we really communicating? Are you communicating with someone if you can not hear them? Here is an even better question. Can you communicate with yourself if you can not even hear your own thoughts?

The most important type of communication is the kind you have with yourself. Are you in an open dialogue with yourself? By this, I mean are you authentic with your own thoughts? Or do you act as if you don’t hear them? With all of the different forms of communication we can easily mask what our inner conversation is trying to say which can make it difficult to be authentic when we are making decisions or speaking with others.

It is easy to see how easily we can get mentally congested with mass communication at our fingertips. If you find that you are distracted or indecisive and it is affecting your business, here are a few steps that you can take to get back on track:

* Unplug yourself from technology. If you can not unplug completely only use what is necessary for a few days to a week.
* Be still. Take a break. Connect with nature
* Listen to where you are guided
* Act on what’s most important that will move you forward

Your assignment for this week is to look at all of the ways you communicate. Make a list. See if you are creating your own mental clutter. Are you comfortable with it? Is it distracting you from your vision? Has there been a pay-off for maintaining it? You may be amazed at what you may find.