“Thanks, we will call you.”<\/p>\n
I believe it when they say that. Unsurprisingly, I am a very literal person. If I said it, I would mean it.<\/p>\n
But not everyone means it. I wish I could figure out who did and who didn’t.<\/p>\n
I just finished a book You Can Read Anybody<\/em>. The author, David Lieberman, had a whole system for how to interpret people.<\/p>\n Straight up: People are not thinking about you.<\/p>\n Well, sometimes they are, but only to wonder what you are thinking about THEM.<\/p>\n Of the people who were thinking about themselves–which in his world, was everyone–there are people who are confident and those who are insecure.<\/p>\n The insecure people spend more time trying to present an image to other people, and there are certain ways they can be expected to behave.<\/p>\n It seemed very true to me–but then, I would believe it, wouldn’t I? Literal person that I am–and it seemed very sad.<\/p>\n Are we all really so self-centered and out for ourselves?<\/p>\n Reminds me of another book: The Prince by<\/em> Machiavelli.<\/p>\n Lieberman\u2019s book makes me feel like everyone else is a poser and trying to impress. I am most certainly not like that…am I?<\/p>\n Machiavelli describes actions he recommends the rulers should take. It’s easy for me to distance myself from this fictional prince. I am not the ruler of anything!<\/p>\n But Machiavelli’s recommendations spring consistently from the most insecure viewpoint. No ruler is ever secure. No ruler can take chances with uncalculated mercy on his or her subjects.<\/p>\n In his world, Princes need to be paranoid and as merciless as a sociopath.<\/p>\n Machiavelli was not a prince. It very well may be easier to advise merciless action than to execute yourself.<\/p>\n Pragmatically speaking, always bet on people’s self-interest. It saddens me to think that people are so predictable along such self-centered lines.<\/p>\n Which may be why I don’t read people well. I want to believe in people.<\/p>\n Or it could be that I am just as self-centered as everyone else, and I want people to agree with MY value judgments.<\/p>\n I’m not that much better than other people. And even these experts might not know everything. Machiavelli had just been fired when he wrote The Prince<\/em>. It was a gift to his patron to get his job back.<\/p>\n I might get a little better at reading people with these books. I think I’d like to take what I learn and avoid the people who are not straight with me. That’s how I’d like to take my chances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Thanks, we will call you.” I believe it when they say that. Unsurprisingly, I am a very literal person. If I said it, I would mean it. But not everyone means it. I wish I could figure out who did … Continue reading