Misperceptions happen when we misinterpret something that was written, said, or perceived through our five senses.

 

I ran into an old high school friend about 30 years ago. He said something that totally caused to me re-think how I was back then. I thought he was insulting me.

When I told my husband years later what this old high school friend had said without commenting on how I thought it was an insult, my husband said, “That means to me that you had potential that you hadn’t lived up to back then.” 

Wow, my husband’s interpretation helped me to consider that this could have been a misperception.

And to think I had been avoiding running into him ever again.

Just recently, he was one of the first people that I saw at my high school reunion.

 

Even if he had meant it the way I interpreted it years ago, over time he clearly didn’t have that opinion of me at all. It was a positive experience seeing him and my old classmates.

I talked with two of my best friends from high school before the reunion. We were listing the people that were likely attending. There were a couple of them that probably will never come again because, “someone said something”.  None of the three of us had been the one to “say something” and sadly we were going to miss out on seeing those classmates because someone else had “said something” decades earlier!  Sensitivity or possibly misperception had deprived us of seeing these friends once again.

 

If someone “said something” try taking a new look at it:

Did I hear it correctly? 

Did the person have a sense of humor that I didn’t understand?

Is/was it worth changing my life around the comment/incident?

If your examination confirms your original perception, you’ve had an affirmation. And you can choose to change any limitations you have imposed on yourself as a result. 

If you see that you have had a misunderstanding, you can reverse the ensuring misperception if you choose.