The Power of Inattentiveness
I think we would all be surprised how convinced we can be of some facts that really aren't true. These phantoms enter our mind, and we cling to them for various reasons; the most common reason is probably our aversion to being wrong.
I misconstrue a lot of things in my mind. I haven't quite learned how not to muddle things yet, but I'm getting better at holding my tongue until someone confirms or denies the notion that lingers in my brain.
I was quite alarmed by a recent event however.
I have a client with whom I am working on, broadly speaking, organizational skills. We'll call this client Fred.
I met with Fred this past Tuesday to get a preliminary sense of what his objectives are. That evening, verbally, we said we will meet again today at "eleven thirty AM." We both spoke it. Fred wrote it in a tiny notebook I gave him.
Over the course of the next few days, I confirmed via text one, two, three, four times:
"At 11:30 AM? Starbucks?"
"Meeting tomorrow at 11:30 AM, yes?"
"Tomorrow at 11:30 AM then?"
"Still meeting at 11:30, correct?"
Fred calls me at about 11 saying that he'd be about fifteen minutes late. I say, "That's fine. I'll see you at 11:45 then."
"You mean 12."
"Fifteen minutes late, right? So 11:45?"
"We were going to meet at 11:45."
"We originally planned to meet at 11:30, but noon is fine."
"You texted me saying 11:45 at one point and 11:30 at another, so I was confused."
"That's fine. We can meet at noon."
Granted, I am trying to assist this bloke with organizational skills, but there's something magical about that conversation.
It makes me wonder how many truths I or others assume based on our misperceptions. It makes me wonder how many choices we make based on those truths. It makes me wonder how many life-altering policies are enacted based on those truths.
I misconstrue a lot of things in my mind. I haven't quite learned how not to muddle things yet, but I'm getting better at holding my tongue until someone confirms or denies the notion that lingers in my brain.
I was quite alarmed by a recent event however.
I have a client with whom I am working on, broadly speaking, organizational skills. We'll call this client Fred.
I met with Fred this past Tuesday to get a preliminary sense of what his objectives are. That evening, verbally, we said we will meet again today at "eleven thirty AM." We both spoke it. Fred wrote it in a tiny notebook I gave him.
Over the course of the next few days, I confirmed via text one, two, three, four times:
"At 11:30 AM? Starbucks?"
"Meeting tomorrow at 11:30 AM, yes?"
"Tomorrow at 11:30 AM then?"
"Still meeting at 11:30, correct?"
Fred calls me at about 11 saying that he'd be about fifteen minutes late. I say, "That's fine. I'll see you at 11:45 then."
"You mean 12."
"Fifteen minutes late, right? So 11:45?"
"We were going to meet at 11:45."
"We originally planned to meet at 11:30, but noon is fine."
"You texted me saying 11:45 at one point and 11:30 at another, so I was confused."
"That's fine. We can meet at noon."
Granted, I am trying to assist this bloke with organizational skills, but there's something magical about that conversation.
It makes me wonder how many truths I or others assume based on our misperceptions. It makes me wonder how many choices we make based on those truths. It makes me wonder how many life-altering policies are enacted based on those truths.
Comments
Post a Comment