The same thing happens to people and we react much the same even though we are supposed to be much more intelligent.
We are not taught to question anything after that magical autopilot arrives. The only reason we raise an eyebrow is if something is off or we are feeling some sort of pain.
I just had an experience and a reaction that left me scratching my head. I had a very long day; up at 0400 to work at my home office and worked for 10-1/2 hours at my “real job”. A very loud show came on and the music, which was even louder, was something I don’t really care for. Then there were characters with accents and a way of talking that I did not like. I felt like I was being overwhelmed. I felt a little panicked and knew I needed to shut that down immediately. I did not want to say anything to the person watching the show because I would hate to ruin it for them.
Just because I am about to have a mental moment doesn’t matter because anything I say or do can affect the way that other person thinks, feels or does for years going forward. Then I stress about that....and I go into the office to work on more work. I really just wanted to go to bed but I figured I should make good use of my time since I was not going to watch the show.
The dilemma, or the horse tied to the plastic chair, is am I behaving that way because of my last 2 decades of training or because I want to be respectful? Am I avoiding confrontation or am I simply being practical? Why did I chose to behave the way I did?
After I got the door shut and I could not hear everything my mind settled down and I got to work. It did not occupy any of my thoughts once I shut the door. But now...12 hours later I realize I have been wondering what he thought of my reaction and how it will color our interactions going forward. Every action has an equal an opposite reaction....hmmmmm
