Why First Impressions Shouldn't Matter

Judging is natural, every time we sit at a restaurant or walk down the street our natural inclination is to observe, compare, and conclude. It seems so irrational. How can we make assumptions and conclusions on people we have never spoken to? I am certainly guilty of it and positive every other human is too.

Often, people will make conclusions about a person solely based off of a tiny introduction or just watching them interact with other people. This happens to me all the time. I've been told that people think that I seem intimidating and unapproachable, but if they actually took the chance to have an actual conversation with me, their whole perspective would change as it has in the past with people I have met. But, if someone assumes you are unapproachable by one interaction, then why would they ever try to interact with you again? Meeting people is hard because I never know how to act. Sometimes I am super sociable and sometimes I hold back; however, that does not mean I should be automatically labeled right off the bat.

First impressions are meaningless because people are deeper than just the name they were given and the way they initially present themselves. In order to actually understand and relate to someone you have to spend time with them and have conversations with them. Imagine how many relationships you are missing out on because you made assumptions based off of observations.

The social media age does not help. Now, people are hiding behind their online selves and using it as their sole form of communication. How someone acts online is not necessarily how they act in real life. It could still go both ways, people act completely fake online or they let go and have the confidence to reveal their true selves.

When it comes to things like job interviews, I get why their first impression of you might be important. Despite this, if you are going to have a job that you love, wouldn't you want to be genuine at the start so you don't have to put on an act every time you go into work? If you want people to know the real you, always be that way! It's up to the other person to look past their first impression of you.

My advice to the people of the world is to become more conscious of those around you. Don't judge someone off of their social media presence or initial observations. Your actions effect other people. It's hard to imagine anyone would be okay with others being completely wrong about the person you are, beyond how you look and act, from an outsider's point of view.

Observe, converse, understand, then conclude.