I am six weeks into wearing invisalign braces. They are not too noticeable, but if you look closely you will notice them. During this six week period two things stand out:

1. Only one person has noticed them. What that tells me is very few people actually pay attention to others. It’s not that I want people to notice them, but when they do it tells me they are paying attention to me. Noticing things about others is easy, but few people do it. I prefer to be around people that notice things about me.

2. Only two people have asked me about my experience with them. When the subject comes up, the typical response is for others to jump right into their story. “I’m thinking about getting them . . . .” Or, “When I had braces . . . .” Listening to others is easy, but few people do it. I prefer to be around people who listen rather than talk about themselves.

I have learned two things:

People who notice others are rare.

People who listen, rather than talking about themselves, are exceptional.

Timothy Velner is a husband, father, attorney and author living in Minneapolis. You can follow his daily blog – a series of discussions between the worry-self and the present-self at – thespiritualgym.me