Observation vs Interpretation

“He’s late to our meeting; I bet he’s going to no-show.”

“She hasn’t texted me back; she must be ghosting me.”

“I didn’t get the job I wanted; I’m jinxed.”

“I got sick on New Year’s Day; it’s going to be a bad year.”

These statements are observations of things that happened, followed by interpretations.

It’s interesting to me how we love to do this – create explanations for our experiences. It doesn’t matter if the explanation is true. Somehow the possible theory makes us feel better, even if it also makes us feel bad.

But in jumping from observation to interpretation, you rob yourself of fully experiencing the experience itself. And of the practice of sitting with what is:

“He’s late: I’m feeling slighted that maybe he didn’t prioritize our meeting, but maybe something happened to him, which makes me feel worried. And I feel a sense of relief because I’m nervous about the meeting. Right behind that is a sense of guilt about being kind of glad he’s not showing up.”

“She hasn’t texted me back: I like her, and I hope she likes me. I feel scared she doesn’t, I feel scared of being rejected. It’s hard to wait to get a response. It’s uncomfortable to feel vulnerable.”

You can follow your internal thread to find your own truth of the experience.

Or you can jump to conclusions to avoid the feelings. And then be at risk of carrying that interpretation – accurate or inaccurate – into the next interaction with that person or similar situation.

In working with your intuition - your inner voice of guidance - learning to observe without interpretation is a key skill. Observe, notice what you feel inside, and observe some more.

Life will reveal itself in due time. In the meantime, focusing on what you know - the facts and your feelings about them - is a less “sticky” way to live than to be led by potentially false interpretations.

Stick with what you know to be true (which isn’t much!),

Kirstin Lindquist