Greg Morris

Just Shut Up And Listen

It’s rare that a trailer sparks any reaction in me. I often feel like I have watched the whole film, don’t you think they are too long nowadays and ruin it? Anyway, I saw one for the Netflix film Shutz by Jonah Hill yesterday, and it sparked plenty of feelings. Something that I have been trying to work on myself over the last few months, and that’s just STFU and listening to people.

Pretty near the start, he says something that has echoed around my brain all day. “They just listen [therapists], and all your friends, who are idiots, give you advice. And you want your friends just to listen”. I’ve written before about me struggling to make many real life friends. The ones I have, I never unload my feelings onto them because I do not want them having to listen to my issues, but I have always been a good sounding board for them. People talk to me frequently about their issues, and I try to give the best advice I can.

I struggle with talking too much. I’m like a toddler, when I hear something that I have thoughts about I want to share them straight away. I do have a filter between brain and mouth, but it might be a little on the short side. Should I in fact, just shut up and listen more instead of giving out my advice. Typically, I have no experience of the situation they are experiencing and as such I am, as Jonah says, an idiot.

Flipping this on its head, I think I would talk to more people around me if they just listened. I don’t share my feeling with others, apart from on my blog, because I don’t need the advice, I just need to say my feelings out load. Much like my process for writing, talking though things often lets me come to a resolution on my own. I’d love to be listened to more. I’ve started watching the full film this morning and already written down loads of notes to refer to, so I might get more advice than I bargained for out of this.

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