Swift to Hear

When someone we love is upset, we usually jump to fixing or defending. Both skip a step. They need to feel heard first.

Try three simple moves. Acknowledge what’s hard for them. Affirm the effort they’re making. Then ask what a good outcome would look like for them. It slows everything down, in a good way.

James puts it in one line: “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” And Proverbs warns what happens when we skip listening: “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.”

In a family, if one person wins an argument, everyone loses. The goal isn’t winning. It’s understanding. Listen first today, and see what changes.