I don’t know why, and I do not know if I am contributing to the cause, but it seems that an overwhelming number of people that I speak to repeat themselves over and over again, or say things that they know I know – over and over again. I don’t understand this. I will be in a meeting with someone and that someone can come out of the meeting and then stand there and try to tell me what was said in the meeting. These are simple concepts and I do not understand why folks have a need to re-iterate them. There is a smugness and self-important stance on the face of so many. Why? We haven’t done anything fabulous, or popular or even good. We are just working, we are getting our jobs done and we are going about our business. What is the need for continual re-emphasis on something that has happened in the past? What is the importance of re-saying something and then pretending wisdom or knowledge? Why is there a need to restate every issue that has ever occurred to you that was even remotely related to now? Why? I cannot stand redundancy and redundancy seems to chase me, everywhere and with everything. Is it because I dislike it so much?
Sometimes, I think that people believe that the past is a guide to the future. I do not think that this is true at all. We live in a real world, that is, for the most part, mundane. Telling me how you kept paper files and organized your life 20 years ago will not help me now. This may give me some insight as to why the young do not listen to the old. The young may be tired of hearing the same things over and over again and they may be tired of hearing about antiquated systems that are not relevant by today’s standards.
So, I would say this: in order to give away your wisdom, you must first rid yourself of your smug redundancies. You have many things that are good and right to share, but you cannot define them, only your audience defines them. To give your wisdom to others, assure yourself that you are not just complaining for complaints sake and that you honestly offer something to be in service to another. We may be correct, we may be right – but if our words are ill received – they fall on deaf ears and therefore are not heard.
