Listening or Hearing

I am reading an interesting book “Train Tough the Army Way” by Mark Bender. In his chapter on learning, he talks about the difference in hearing vs. listening.

His example is when in high school, his dad and told him about how to relax when shooting jumpers. But with his attitude at the time, he only “heard” his dad and did not listen. As a result, his jumper did not improve until years later when he finally “listened”

Listening is not just hearing the words but taking them in and digesting them. Then storing them in your brain so you can retrieve them later. A good listener is alert, gives feedback and has questions.

So as a Coach, I have a sneaky feeling that a client is just “hearing me” when I have to repeat “Don’t look at the ground when you run” or “fix your posture”.

A client, who is truly listening, only has to be told once. In my martial Arts days, many of the old school Chinese teachers were of the “I am only saying this once” persuasion. They believed that if you were a serious student, you would be paying attention. They did not waste time with students that did not work at their standards.

So next time you are training, make sure you are LISTENING. Your Coach is trying to teach you something- be respectful of his time and efforts, as well as the money you are spending on lessons and time invested.

Smart athletes make mo better progress.