Posts tagged 'communication'
“He is very manipulative!”
You’ve probably heard this sentence before. Maybe you even used it yourself. It’s usually said with the same tone you’d use for moldy cheese or stepping on LEGO barefoot.
But here’s the thing: manipulation isn’t a bad word.
And before you scream, “Noooo, Ronit, don’t go there!”, stay with me.
In parenting, relationships, workplaces, families — even in our own health — manipulation is everywhere. And it’s not what you think.
Most people say they want peace. Most people say they want calm. But when real quiet finally arrives—when the TV is off, the phone is face-down, the house is still, the day slows—something strange happens.
Many of us don’t feel peaceful. We feel restless. Uneasy. Pulled to distract ourselves.
Suddenly, the silence that was supposed to comfort us… makes us uncomfortable.
This is where the fear of silence psychology begins. Silence becomes a mirror, and what we see in that mirror is not always easy.
In this second chapter of the Silence benefits for emotional wellbeing, we will explore why silence triggers discomfort, what happens in the brain during quiet moments, how early experiences shape our relationship with silence, and how we can begin to feel safe in the spaces between words.
Read Fear of Silence Psychology: Why Are Quiet Moments So Scary? »
Silence is one of the rarest experiences in modern life. We fill every empty moment with sound — podcasts, conversations, notifications, background noise, busy thoughts. Yet the power of silence and the benefits of silence for emotional wellbeing are enormous, and most people don’t realise how deeply quiet moments can change their mental and emotional landscape.
As parents, partners, and individuals navigating a noisy world, we often forget that silence is not the absence of life — it is the space where life is processed. It’s where the brain recalibrates, the heart slows down, and emotions finally have room to breathe.
Let’s explore the power of silence and the benefits of silence for emotional wellbeing, why silence affects the brain so powerfully, and how small shifts in daily quiet time can transform relationships, parenting, resilience, and clarity.
Read The Power of Silence: Benefits for Emotional Wellbeing »
There’s something magical about the New Year. Even if nothing changes overnight, the calendar flips and suddenly we feel a tiny spark — a chance to start again.
But if the last few years have taught me anything, it’s this: Life doesn’t get lighter because we avoid the darkness. It gets lighter when we learn to walk through it with open eyes.
The last several years were a bit dark for me. This New Year, I want to explore the idea of embracing darkness, not as something scary or unwanted, but as something deeply useful — even beautiful — in our emotional, physical, and family life.
Most of us move through life reacting automatically to what shows up in front of us. Something happens — the scale goes up, a cold sets in, we overeat after a stressful day — and immediately we label it: bad, wrong, a setback, a failure.
And once we label something, our mind jumps into its usual story.
– “I messed up again.”
– “I shouldn’t feel this way.”
– “This shouldn’t be happening.”
– “What’s wrong with me?”
We don’t even notice that we’re doing it.
Read Weeds to Flowers: How a Shift in Perspective Can Transform Your Health and parenting »
Communication works like a bee. It can produce honey or sting. It’s true. Our communication is the tool we have to connect or destroy relationship. To be better parents, we need to develop better communication with our children.
When our kids are born, they have full trust in us. They trust us with their life. They have to, because without us, they would die. Literally.
Over the years, that trust is gradually lost. Not because the kids grow out of it, but because the parents change the way they communicate with their children.
Family relationships can be hard, let’s be honest. We have a relationship with everyone we come in contact with. Some relationships are short. Some are long. Some are intimate, and others not so much. In every relationship, our actions affect the dynamic. We can’t just do or say whatever we want, whenever we want.
Why? Because we don’t exist in a bubble. Our words have meaning.
It’s amazing how many people are never exposed to the concept of effective and thoughtful communication. I find people of all ages coming to my leadership camps and saying, “How has no one ever taught me this?”
Relationship problems are a natural part of life, and usually stems from either or both parties’ insecurity. Many people think that if they understand the source of a conflict, they will find a solution more easily. Sometimes, asking “Why?” helps, but often, it can cause more harm than good.
Why?
Because “Seek and you shall find”. When someone asks us a question, we activate a mechanism in the brain that searches for an answer. It will not rest until it finds one.
Questions are like playing “fetch” with a dog. Ask, and your mind’s “dog” will search for the “ball” (or “stick”).
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every part of our daily life. Work, school and social engagements were adjusted to follow the restrictions. But the most troubling change is the huge increase in domestic violence all around the world.
Domestic violence has been damaging our society in more ways than COVID-19 ever will. But no one thinks we should shut down schools, states, airlines, restaurants, gyms or businesses until we eradicate it from our society. And we’re going to pay for this long after COVID-19 is gone.
Domestic violence is primarily directed at women and children. Why? Because they are more vulnerable.
Read Domestic Violence is Devastating. We Need to Stop It! »
As parents, it’s natural for us to want to keep our children from feeling what we perceive as negative emotions. We want to keep them from suffering. But as hard as it is to admit, by doing so, we often do more harm than good.
Most people grow up thinking that our purpose in life is to avoid suffering. But it isn’t!
We aren’t supposed to avoid suffering, we’re supposed to manage it. We should never fight it, or even try to control it. We must live with it and find ways to use it to our advantage.
Read Negative Emotions: How to Really Help Your Kids Manage Them »
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