Resist the Interpretation Addiction

“People only see what they are prepared to see.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) philosopher, poet & lecturer Imagine you’ve just been promoted to lead a new team of people. After working in the role for a few months, you spot a terrific business opportunity for the team (and the company).

You discuss the idea with your new boss. He thinks it has merit and encourages you to present it to the senior management team (whom you haven’t met before).

The time comes to make your presentation. You enter the room and introduce yourself. No one looks up from their laptops to greet you. You begin your presentation. Some people look up occasionally, but mostly their attention stays with their computers. You complete your presentation. No one says anything. You leave.

A friend calls you that evening. “How’d the big presentation go? What happened?” Take a moment right now and think about it, what would you tell him?

...

So, what would you tell your friend? It could be a variety of things:

“I can’t believe how rude they were.” or “They completely ignored me. I don’t think I had credibility. I’m just too young,” or “It was bad timing. They must have had some really important business going on.” or “I must be such a brutal presenter.”

There would probably be as many variations in responses as there are people reading this. Yet, they would all share some element of “I thought they…” Each commentary would be an interpretation of the event, a “story” about what happened.

If you were to give an account of what happened without interpretation, it would sound something like this:

“I entered the room, said ‘Good morning, my name is X.’ No one looked up from their laptops. I gave my presentation. Some people looked up occasionally, but mostly they looked at their computers. I finished. No one said anything. I left.”

In day-to-day life, it’s rare to see this level of objectivity. The facts of the event and our interpretation of what happened are almost always collapsed and treated as the same thing.

Our interpretation, or story, of the event automatically becomes “what happened.”

“What happened with the presentation,” you ask?

“Well let me tell YOU! I couldn’t believe it, I got all prepared, gave it my all and they didn’t even have the respect to hear me out. They barely acknowledged I was in the room. I think I’m/they’re just too….”

We adopt the story and unknowingly our emotions get swept up in it. And 99% of the time we don’t really question or inquire into the story we create. We treat our story as what actually happened.

The problem, of course, is that the story influences, in part, the action you take in subsequent events, or presentations in this case.

Perhaps:

1. You’d refuse to present to this group again.

2. You’d wait a few years for more grey hairs and “credibility” to show up.

3. You would wear different clothing or sign up for Toastmasters.

Unchecked interpretation can set off a negative cycle: we may respond by limiting our behaviour (I won’t present to the management team), people see your new behaviour, make their own meanings of it (he’s not confident enough etc.), they respond to the new behaviour (fewer invitations to present), then I respond to THEIR response (stop bringing ideas forward etc).

The cycle continues to the point where the original event is long lost in a series of interpretations. Sound familiar?

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t give meaning to events, just that each event in and of itself DOESN’T mean anything. It’s simply good practice to check our stories.

Fieldwork:

Pick an area where you are stuck or resisting action and identify the stories you had created around it.

If you’ve picked something you have a lot of “history” with, chances are your story may be a long one or involve a bunch of stories. For the sake of this exercise, break it down to smaller pieces or separate out the stories.

For example, in the presentation situation above, we may have opinions about the management team AND my ability to present. Separate those stories and address them individually.

You’re looking for a simple sentence that captures the heart of your story. “I’m too young to be credible,” for example.

So, here’s what you want to do:

Write the statement out.

“I’m too young to be credible.”

Answer the following:

1. “Is this story the absolute truth?” Yes or no. No maybes.

2. “How do I respond to this story? (attitudes, feelings, behaviours)

3. “What are those responses costing me?” (negative results caused)

4. “What would my life be like if that story didn’t exist?”

Sit with the questions. Let the costs sink in. Let what a life without this thought, emerge.

By Jamie Broughton of Footprint Leadership. If you're ready to build a stellar business and career without working harder than you already are, get your complimentary Leadership Springboard Workbook and tips now at www.footprintleadership.com

Resist the Interpretation Addiction - To learn more about this author, visit Jamie Broughton's Website.

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