In the late 1970s, the first fire safety PSA became a household phrase. The campaign starred Dick Van Dyke rolling on the floor as if his clothes were on fire urging us to “Stop, Drop, and Roll!” In 2006, Elizabeth Gilbert coined a new three-word phrase with her best-selling book, Eat, Pray, Love. Well, in the spirit of powerful three-word phrases, in 2021, we are starting our own. This week we want to encourage you to STOP, ASK, and LISTEN. One of the most caring things we can do for ourselves and for other people is to be present. This means blocking out all other distractions and making the time to focus on just one thing—the person you see in the mirror or the person sitting across from you. But this has proven to be a bit challenging for us. First off, it is hard for us to stop, because we are always running. Secondly, we have gotten a bit lackadaisical about asking meaningful questions. Lastly, we often don’t intently listen to the answer for the very questions we ask because we are already thinking about the next thing we want to say or something else completely. This is why we think this simple three-word phrase might be so effective. So spend some time with it. It will help you better care for yourself and for those in your life. Stopping, asking, and listening matters.
