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Paulo Coelho Quote on How People Only Hear What They Want To Hear (and Why I Disagree)

    “Don’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.”

    Paulo Coelho

    Beyond the Quote (124/365)

    I disagree. I stumbled upon this quote on Instagram and I can see why people would share it and agree with it from a superficial standpoint, but I feel that there’s something deeply wrong about it that needs to be discussed. If you never took the time to explain, how would anybody ever be influenced to change their mind? Certainly people change their minds. And in my estimation, it’s ONLY through conversation and explanation that it ever happens: conversations you have with other people, conversations you listen to between other people, and conversations that you read from other people. It’s through this constant exchange of ideas—these explanations—that we only ever advance our thoughts forward. How else could we possibly do that?

    Read More »Paulo Coelho Quote on How People Only Hear What They Want To Hear (and Why I Disagree)

      “Sometimes we’ll say small things to someone and they’ll lose their sh*t.  It’s not because they’re crazy—it’s because whatever we said was the last straw.  People walk around collecting moments of stress, and if left unaddressed, stress will pile up until they hit their limit, and then Kaboom!  We’ve all had our own stories of hitting our breaking point and letting the wrong person have it.  Those experiences, as unfortunate as they are, also allow us to find compassion when it happens to others.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 225)

        “There is no absolute good and bad; everything is what we make of it.  As we strive to understand more than we evaluate, we open up more possibilities and opportunities for things to improve and unfold the way we want them to.  This requires paying attention, and allowing a situation to be complicated, and sorting through the details—zooming in—to find where all the magic is hiding.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 199)

          “As adults, we don’t need to empathize just with those people we harm; we also need to empathize with those who harm us.  That means we have to suspend judgment and focus more on understanding as much as we can.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 185)

            “We judge people because it’s easier than what we should be doing:  trying to understand them.  When we understand, we’re less reactive and more compassionate. Trying to understand someone or something requires much more effort than judging, but it’s so much more enriching in the long run.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 163)

              “We can say ‘blue,’ but until we see the color blue, we don’t really know what the meaning is.  We can say that something is hot, but until we touch it, we don’t know what ‘hot’ means.  We can talk about bringing our mind to compassion by saying ‘May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the root of suffering,’ but until we feel the pain of others, ‘pain’ is only a word.  We have to crack its shell to let its meaning infuse us, seep into our lives.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 133)

              I Wrote This For You [Book]

                I Wrote This For You by Iain Thomas

                By: Iain Thomas

                From this Book: 28 Quotes

                Book Overview: “I need you to understand something. I wrote this for you. I wrote this for you and only you. Everyone else who reads it, doesn’t get it.”  Started 2007, I Wrote This For You is an acclaimed exploration of hauntingly beautiful words, photography and emotion that’s unique to each person that reads it. This book gathers together nearly 200 of the most beautiful entries into four distinct chapters; Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain. Together with several new and exclusive entries that don’t appear anywhere else, each chapter of I Wrote This For You focuses on a different facet of life, love, loss, beginnings and endings.

                Buy from Amazon! Not on Audible…

                Great on Kindle. Great Experience. Great Value. The Kindle edition of this book comes highly recommended on Amazon.

                Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

                1. 15 Refreshing Love Quotes from I Wrote This For You
                2. 10 Iain Thomas Quotes on Believing In Yourself for When You’re Feeling Low
                3. Iain Thomas Quote On Giving People A Chance and How Everyone Is Someone (Beyond the Quote 176/365)