Selective Hearing

Have you ever told someone something and then the results of it shows up later on? I had a teacher who used to tell me (in grade school) something and then she would comment, "Well, it went in one ear and came out the other." In other words, she told me what she said, only I didn't hear or my brain didn't process it. I call it selective hearing.

You tell your kids to pick up their room or you need to read, etc. They answer back, "Blah, blah, whatever." Thirty minutes later the task doesn't get completed. So you tell them again and get the same old answer. By the fourth or fifth time you tell them you are beginning to nag at them, "I told YOU to DO THIS NOW....like a week ago and YOU CHOSE NOT to do this!" Then they wonder why they get a grade in a certain subject or why there is dust bunnies under the bed or whatever the case may be. You told them and they CHOSE NOT to listen. It is aggravating.

The same thing can happen (not just when you are trying to light a fire under your kids to get motivated) in everyday life. In our case, we had just bought a car from a dealership and our financial institution gives us a check, thus becoming the lienholder. You hand them the check and say, "Put XYZ credit union as the lien holder." They gladly take the check, with their Subway lunch in hand. A month later, we get the title and it is wrong. It's not that we didn't tell them that XYZ credit union, they chose not to listen. They were too involved with Subway and not getting things done right.

Selective Hearing is a bad thing to have. It can happen to children who don't listen to the parents or teachers and it can happen in business dealings too. It leaves a very bad impression on the buyers, in this case, whether they will pass on how great that particular car agency isn't. I think since it was their fault (not to listen) that if we have to pay a fine it should revert back to that particular dealership.

So the moral is to this story, ALWAYS listen carefully it could be your grade or your job and it will effect others.