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Unresponsiveness: The Modern Day Curse…
If you’ve ever had a non-returned phone call, text message or email, raise your hand; if you’ve ever not returned a phone call, text message or email, raise your hand. If you’ve raised your hand both times, I dare say that you fall into the category that, unfortunately, many of us inhabit: the category of unresponsiveness that seemingly pervades contemporary society like a modern day curse.
We’ve all experienced the frustration of not hearing back from someone, and just the same, we’ve all been guilty of another person’s frustration in them not hearing back from us. But that’s alright, we’re human, and being human means we’re not perfect. It means we can’t be all things to all people all the time.
However, and it’s a big however, people who persistently behave unresponsively towards people they know (i.e. respectful people whom they’ve met at least twice) by not responding in a timely fashion (i.e. up to 48 hours), barring an emergency (i.e. a death or trauma), are committing an act of disrespect and rudeness. And in committing an act of disrespect and rudeness they’re displaying a behavior flaw that leads one to ask what other flaws lie within?
The unresponsive person does the responsive person a favor as their unresponsiveness is a red flag for thoughtlessness and self-absorption. It’s a signal for immaturity and a warning for shallowness. It’s the mentality of hearing from someone only when they want something; it’s the agenda-driven person. It’s akin to the person who doesn’t greet the janitor, but fawns over those they know can help them.
And then there are those who are responsive. They return that call, answer that text, or respond to that email, and not just when it might benefit them. They demonstrate consideration, thoughtfulness and reliability (see Reliability: That “Boring” Stalwart of Character…). They demonstrate maturity and a willingness to listen, and although their answer may not always be positive, they understand the importance of communication in fostering human relations.
It’s clear that we can be preoccupied with personal, family, health, business or work matters, and forget to be responsive. But more than naught our unresponsiveness isn’t a matter of forgetting, but a matter of choice. We choose to lead a responsive life; we choose to treat people with respect, and we choose to respond in kind. We lead a responsive life, or we don’t; it’s our choice and our choice alone.
The next time that voicemail lights up, that email chimes in, or that text alert goes off, think twice before not responding. Besides being discourteous, one never knows what opportunity might be missed on the other end…
For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here. Now revised and expanded, and a Nominee for the Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of the 2015 Global Ebook Awards.
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A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.
2015 Global Ebook Awards Nominee for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook