Have you ever met someone, gotten to know them, and wondered why they are the way they are?
Have you ever met someone and immediately wondered what goes on in his or her mind?
Have you ever tried to understand someone based on his or her actions?
I find myself doing this all of the time. I LOVE to psychoanalyze people. I want to understand why they are the way they are and what causes them to do the things they do. In my mind by understanding a person completely you can understand their actions.
I find myself psychoanalyzing most people I meet. Why? Because what's more interesting than people? Nothing. The brain, people's personalities, all of it is a never-ending pit of information. A never-ending pit that quite frankly is full of surprises.
With that being said I believe that to better understand other people, you must first put forth the effort to understanding yourself. For starters, you can try this test, "Psychoanalyze yourself." It's extremely interesting, and it tells you what is hidden in your unconscious mind.
I find myself doing this more and more. Maybe this attributes to my undying curiosity to know and learn everything. But understanding people is the most beneficial thing you could do for yourself.
By understanding who you are and why you do certain things or act a certain way, it allows you to open your mind and understand why other people act the way they do. There are numerous external factors that go into a single person’s mindset and personality, but once you get a good feel for what those are, you can understand others better.
For example, when someone lashes out at you, you immediately get offended. Do you ever stop to wonder why they did that? What drove them to lash out at you? Did you ever stop to think that maybe that person is dealing with something far bigger than whatever they freaked out on you for? Maybe there is something there that stems all the way back to their childhood, a sense of insecurity or who knows what. The answer is you never know.
The ability to understand people is easy; you just have to allow yourself to do it. It all starts with you. You must understand who you are, what makes you tick and why, what you have experienced that has made you the way you are, and why you react a certain way in different situations.
No two people are exactly the same. We all have different personalities, mindsets and reasons for why we act the way we do. We’re all made up of different experiences and although we’re under the assumption that we are just like certain people, we aren’t.
The idea that we are all individuals placed on this earth for a reason is somewhat mind-boggling. Right now there are 7,424,664,200 – and counting —people on this planet. Your 1,000 Facebook friends are not even a fraction of that. All of these people have experienced their fair share of hardships, “best days of their life” and overall amazing moments that make up their life thus far. There are SO many people out there you have never crossed paths will, and probably never will. Doesn’t the thought of that just make your mind explode? No, just me? OK, anyways…
As you go through the everyday motions of your daily life, remember that. Take time to understand yourself and understand who you are. Take the time to understand other people instead of simply writing them off as an asshole or b*tch. Make an effort to understand why people do the things they do.
People will let you down, people will surprise you, people will confuse you but people will never leave you will a dull moment. People are fascinating souls.
