talk to me
5 types of conversations that are good for us
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Everyone needs small talk about the weather and a bit of gossip, and that’s perfectly okay, too. But then there are other conversations, namely those that are really good for us and that we should have more of.
A bit of chatter with colleagues, a bit of gossip in front of daycare and a little bit of this from time to time Das Pineapple: Such conversations are part of everyday life and each of us has them every day. Usually not just once and that’s perfectly okay, after all, that’s exactly what we get in touch with. But above all gossip, conversations in which only one person is talking or those in which it is only about how bad everything is are not the kind of communication that strengthens us and makes us feel good. In the long run, such conversations harm us far more than we imagine. It is all the more important to have conversations that do the opposite to us. Namely:
1. Those that we have at the kitchen table at three in the morning
The best evenings are those when we sit with people we care about late into the night and talk about God and the world. Then we realize how comfortable we feel with them, as seen and heard.
2. Those that make us laugh so hard our stomach hurts
Few things make us feel as light as an evening spent with friends as carefree as children and about the worst laughing at flat jokes. But that is exactly what makes us feel.
3. Those so real they teach us things about ourselves
Conversations where we truly show who we are. Say what we think and risk being criticized. Maybe things that hurt too. These are conversations through which we have the opportunity to grow if we are brave enough not only to look at others, but above all to question ourselves.
4. Those in which we respect other people’s opinions and learn from them
We don’t all have to agree, but the way we talk about it says a lot about who we are and how we communicate. And also whether we are willing to examine our views critically or practice respecting the opinions of others.
PS Of course there are opinions on certain subjects that are unacceptable, that’s out of the question.
5. Ones that make us feel so much lighter because we got rid of something that has bothered us for a long time
Sometimes we drag issues around with us forever because we don’t dare to talk about them, because we’re ashamed, because they make us sad, because they have consequences or because we don’t want to be a burden to anyone. But more often than not, we feel a lot lighter when we’ve said things, rather than lugging them around as uncomfortable rumblings in our stomachs. And looking back, the fear of what could happen then was mostly either unfounded or much greater than what actually happened.