Maybe It's Time To Become More Receptive

When you become more receptive, you can only gain.

You can find out how other people achieved their success. 

Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can get step by step information from them.

You can learn how they got from Point A to Point B.

You can find out their latest discoveries, because information is a moving target.

You can get valuable input.

You can get new ideas for old problems.

Most of the time, we are not receptive because of arrogance.  We think we know everything.

We can't stand someone telling us what to do – who do they think they are!

Also, we are not receptive to advice or information in areas in which we think we are experts, or “so called experts”. We will say, “oh, I knew about this years ago.”

We hate it when something we tried but gave up, is working for someone else. Instead of trying to figure out the reason it didn’t work for us, we tell them it won’t work, and their efforts are doomed, even though we can clearly see it is working for them.

This is how perverse we are.

We try our damndest not to be receptive.

One of the ways, is to pretend to be receptive, but actually not take any of the advice or information we are given, seriously.

Another way is to come up with an excuse not to be able to act on the advice or the information.

An excuse is a dead give-away, a person is not receptive to suggestions, advice or information.

Another way is changing the subject, or ending the conversation.  If people change the subject, or end the conversation, it means they are not receptive - they’ve heard all they want to hear, or are willing to hear.

People who are not receptive usually learn nothing from friends, family, and acquaintances.

The thing we are most unreceptive to as we get older is “change”.

We are used to our stuff, we are used to our routines, our ways of doing things have become set.

We hold onto our stuff, and our routines, long after they have a useful purpose in our lives.

Open and receptive people act on new information, closed and unreceptive people ignore new information.

Being unreceptive is not all bad.

It is prudent to be non-receptive, when there is a chance of losing something you value, such as your relationships, your money or assets, your health, your peace, your sanity, or your values.

Temptations abound.

People will try to tempt you to put these things at risk.

For example, some folks will try to sell you on a financial product, just to get their commission.

It is wise to be non-receptive, unless and until, you have done your homework.

It is also wise to be non-receptive, to requests for financial help that could put you in trouble.  It may seem harmless to co-sign someone’s loan, but you are on the hook, should the party be unable to pay, for whatever reason.

Being non-receptive also protects us against brain-washing.  Being receptive does not mean being suggestible and easily swayed.

What to be receptive to and what not to be receptive to?  When to be receptive and when not to be receptive?

The best solution is to be receptive, but keep your guard up.

Put on your thinking cap - when any information, ideas or suggestions are presented to you.

Think about the pros and cons, give the ideas and suggestions serious thought, before taking any action of any kind.

Here are some of the things ,we will find it difficult to be receptive to, but we must try to be receptive to…..

Criticism from any source.

Suggestions from those who are younger than us, or less experienced than us.

If we are told the exact same thing by an experienced boss, or someone who is close to our age, or older, and a rookie, we may be completely non-receptive to the suggestion, if it came from the rookie.

This being the case, we have to become more self-aware of our reactions. We should be able to benefit from ideas and suggestions, regardless of the source.

Being receptive does not mean you have to be open to suggestions to everything under the sun.

Someone who is happily single, is not going to be receptive to getting into a relationship, because there is nothing intrinsically bad about being single, and in fact, there may be a lot of good.

In general, I would be receptive to one and done things, such as trying a new dish or cuisine.  If I don’t like it, I don’t have to eat it again.

I would be non-receptive to changing aspects of my lifestyle, if there is nothing inherently wrong with those aspects of my lifestyle, and I am not experiencing any dissatisfaction or lack.

There is also a “how” in receptiveness and a “how” in non-receptiveness.

We need to be non-receptive as graciously as possible, without causing the person whose ideas and suggestions we are being non-receptive to, to lose face.

Better to say, “I’ll think about it, and if this is something I want to do, I will get back to you.”

Some people like my sister Rosie are natural diplomats.  Me, I can get into it, if someone presents an idea to me which I don't agree with, and if I think the idea needs to be stopped in its tracks.

I have spent a great part of my life being non-receptive in the worst possible way – arguing till kingdom come.

Despite my success with meditation, even now, certain topics and ideas can set me off.

I am still a wip (work-in-progress) in this respect.

I would like to achieve a state where I am compassionate even when I am non-receptive.

By being compassionate even when we are non-receptive, we can become “a shelter in the storm”.

Receptiveness is so much connected with point in time.

We may not be receptive to an idea at one point in time, but at another point in time – even years and decades into the future – we may become receptive to that very same thing.

As an example, back when I first met my friend Julia, she told me that my need to eat rice at lunch and dinner was just an addiction.

I was not receptive.

I thought, “How could I be addicted to rice?”

Two years ago, I decided to halt the onset of diabetes in my life, by doing something about it, while I was still pre-diabetic.  By doing some online research, I discovered rice, wheat, potatoes, and most fruit, were deadly for those with pre-diabetes. I invested in a glucose meter, and it confirmed what I had discovered online.

I started cutting down on these things, and eventually eliminated rice, wheat, potatoes, and most fruit other than berries, from my diet.

Today, you won’t find rice in my pantry, and I do not crave it, though it had been a staple part of my diet for most of my life.  So Julia was right. It was an addiction.

Also, 2 years ago, if anyone told me, I could skip a meal, I would have said “impossible”.

I would even get terrified if a fasting blood glucose test at a lab was scheduled for after 9 a.m, because I usually ate breakfast as soon as I woke up.

Now I have been practicing ‘intermittent fasting’ for a year, as advised by Dr. Jason Fung, and it has been extremely illuminating.

I can go 14-24 hours with bullet-proof coffee, and sometimes with just plain black coffee without sugar.

What happened to the person who could "never skip a meal"?

For circumstances such as mine, we need to revise the quote – “When the student is ready, the teacher appears” to “When the student is finally ready, the teacher reappears”.

Yes, my fasting transformation has made me more aware than ever, of the fact, answers to our questions, and solutions to our problems, are often hidden in plain sight.

It's just a question of us becoming more receptive.

As always, thanks for sharing my Journey to Wisdom, Meaning and a Better Life.  Like you, I am trying to find my way through this complex maze we call life, and I am honored to have you share my journey - as I continue to seek answers to questions, and solutions to problems, that are often hidden in plain sight.

Thanks to Ajay and Majella for their compliments on my last post, and thanks to the rest of you for your likes, pins, shares, tweets and votes…..much appreciated….M ……a Pearl Seeker like you. 

Last but not least, Happy Birthday to all those with July birthdays.  Hope you use your birthday month to birth something new and wonderful in your life. Be receptive to inputs from others, is my sincere advice.

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