Check out It’s All About The Mouth – Part 1 in case you missed it.

I’m not what one might call a big talker.  As I get older, I talk less and less.  It’s not that I have nothing to say; it’s just that I think I get a lot more out of life by being a better listener.

So at social gatherings of friends and families I’m usually the guy who has the least to say.  You wouldn’t know it by my blog posts.  I know, I’m a bit long winded in my stories and I’m constantly advised to make things shorter.  I’ll give it a shot, but I don’t really know if that’s me as a writer.

They say that nobody has time to read anymore, so keep it short.  And yet look at the success of the Kindle.  Somebody out there is still doing a lot of reading.

Perhaps it’s you to whom I’m talking.

In creative meetings I learned long ago to be the guy who has little to say at the beginning of the meeting when listening to everybody else is important.  Then when it’s time to summarize or in fact come up with the concept, I’m usually the guy who can synthesize all the ideas together into a concept that everybody agrees with because I’ve been the guy who’s been listening.  The process works.

Also I’ve spent my life in show biz associating with people who really like to talk.  Performers and actors crave the stage.  It’s part of their make-up; it’s their special talent to be able to hold the attention of the room.  I say, “Let ‘em talk!”  Let them do what they do best and I’ll just sit back and listen and learn.

I also enjoy silence.  In fact I honor silence.  I’m constantly working to find more silence in my music.  I really hate noisy restaurants.  I’ve very much turned down the listening levels of my music while I work as I’ve gotten older.  I find that I hear more when the music is played back at a lower level where the world seems to be going in a completely opposite direction.  The audio world is going a bit loud crazy these days and I’ve decided to just not go there with them.

So I’m well on my way to being a pretty quiet guy.

So what is the second part of this post about?  Clearly the implied is that as I’ve considered what goes into the mouth, I’m also considering what comes out of the mouth.

There is one area of my life that I’ve recently identified where I definitely need improvement.  And so, my New Years resolution…

I’m going to watch much more closely what wants to come out of my mouth going forward.  I think I’m becoming a complainer.  If something doesn’t go right, I complain about it.  If somebody does me in, I complain about it.  If somebody makes a mistake, I complain about it.  Now I’m starting to complain about the fact that I complain!

This is all getting a bit silly and as the stress levels of life build and tensions set in, I find that I get a lot more vocal to those listening.  Upon further consideration, I don’t think those listening really want to be experiencing my complaints.  They just have to be there for a variety of reasons – they’re family or friends or work associates or whatever.  They’re simply in the vicinity.

Nobody likes a complainer and before I start losing the respect of my contemporaries (if I haven’t already) I think I’d better just shut up.  My parents taught me that the expression was impolite and not to be used, but in this instance, when referring to myself, I think it’s appropriate.  More and more as the days go by, I’m going to try to shut up.

That’s right.  Shut the trap.  Button it down.  Bite off the words before they escape the lips.  Watch the thought so that the words don’t even start to form as concepts.  I know I’ll be happier.  Why rehearse the negative?  That’s all complaining really is anyway.

So if we’re talking and I suddenly go silent, please understand that I’m hard at work on my New Years resolution.

Perhaps one day
When I’m old and gray
I’ll have nothing left to say
Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

In the meantime…

For more inspirational music, thoughts, and ideas from Peter Link, please visit Watchfire Music.