It’s All In The Interpretation!

                                           Your interpretations create your world.

My husband and I were talking about a mutual acquaintance he had run into at the store. Then my husband said what a great guy this person was. I stopped what I was doing and laughed. We couldn’t possibly be talking about the same person. This is a man who never speaks to me or even acknowledges my presence.  I find him rude and my husband finds him friendly. I find him

obnoxious and my husband finds him humorous. I find him self-centered and my husband finds him warm and caring.

It’s all in the interpretation of behavior. Have you ever said hello to someone and been ignored? Have you ever smiled at someone and received a scowl in return? Has anyone ever been friendly to your face and then stabbed you in the back?

We've all encountered situations like these and interpreted the other person's behavior...but is our interpretation accurate or is it miles off the mark? When you speak to someone and they don't respond, they may be ignoring you, or maybe they're just lost in thought. When you smile at someone and they give you a dirty look, they may not like you, or maybe they've just had a fight with the boss. And when someone acts friendly toward you, they may want to establish a friendship, or they may be using you to achieve some ulterior motive.
 

We interact with people every day, and we base our feelings about them on their behaviors. But, what if our interpretations aren't accurate? Our interpretations create our world. If we believe that people can't be trusted, then we interpret their behaviors accordingly, and they become untrustworthy to us. If we believe that the boss is out to further his/her own agenda at our expense, then we interpret the boss' behaviors with a wary eye. If we believe that our parents always treated our brothers and sisters better than us, that interpretation will color our relationship with our siblings forever.
   
We can interpret people’s behavior in hundreds of ways, accurately or not. But we must take responsibility for our interpretations. Perception is Reality. If we’re unhappy with the world around us, we can make it a better place for us by changing our interpretations – by learning that any behavior is subject to many interpretations.
 
So do yourself a favor and consider a variety of interpretations for the behavior of others and find
one that is both accurate and useful to you.   The world around you will change for better or worse as you change your interpretations.


~Weekly Challenge~

Learn to distinguish between a behavior and an interpretation. Behaviors are actions like crying,
throwing something, or walking away from someone. Interpretations are opinions about what the behavior means.

One day this week, make it a point to notice the behaviors of people around you. You can do this at work, at the mall -- any place you will see a lot of people.

As you notice the behavior of others, you will form your own interpretation of the behaviors. Now see what other interpretations you can come up with.

For example, if you see a child crying at the store, your interpretation might be that the child is a
spoiled brat. But other interpretations might be that someone stepped on the child's foot or that they were stung by a bee. If you see a car go speeding by you on the freeway, your interpretation might be that they are crazy to be driving so fast. But another interpretation might be that they're rushing to the hospital for a medical emergency.  You get the idea.

Just remember, change your interpretation and change your world!  I'd love to hear from you after you do this exercise to get your thoughts.

 

IT IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD!

 

Cindy Kozak
cakozak88@gmail.com