Deciphering meaning through the noise of life

My wife left me this note a couple of Saturdays ago. We had a busy day ahead of us. We were headed in multiple directions. We would likely go from sun up to sun down without seeing each other and would barely have a chance to speak.

She put the note in a convenient place next to our coffee pot. She knew that would be my first stop of the day.

The note was intended to provide vital information. I needed to feed the dog, and she wanted me to know that she loved me.

We have five kids, own a farm, and are very engaged in living a full life. Within an hour of our children waking up, the note looked a lot like our lives feel some days, messy.

I looked at the now tarnished note with its hard-to-decipher message and thought…

If I was seeing the note for the first time as a smeared mess, distracted and busy would I infer the intended meaning?

So What

Almost all of us lead busy and distracted lives, and this can negatively impact our ability to decipher the messages we receive clearly.

When you decipher a message that doesn’t make sense based on your previous experiences with the source. Do this before you react.

Pause and consider the possibility that in the distracted busyness of your day, you might not be deciphering the message correctly/completely.

• Consider if you are letting unrelated emotions drive your reaction to the message (bad) or thinking clearly about the message (good).

• Consider how the message would be deciphered if you assumed positive intent.

• Consider if the meaning you are inferring makes sense in the overall context of the situation, the person, and your relationship with them.

Conclusion

We are mostly all busy and overcommitted. Taking a pause and reflect approach to the messages we receive is more productive than jumping to wrong conclusions because you incorrectly decipher a message’s meaning. Take control of your reaction to avoid overreacting. This will lead to better outcomes.