I’m starting a new blog series I like to call, “Idioms, Clichés, and How to Live By Them.”
I’ll start by noting that I am not a doctor. I do not offer treatment or medical advice. These blog entries offer a fun spin on the idioms and clichés we hear (and use) almost daily. Enjoy the read – I’ll enjoy the write!
“EVEN A BROKEN CLOCK IS RIGHT TWICE A DAY”
I like to remember this saying in conjunction with how we view lasting first impressions. Have you ever met someone and had that awe-inspiring feeling about them, but no matter how many times you tried to get that moment back, you never saw the same greatness in that person again? Maybe you went on a first date, and your date was all you ever dreamed – polite, polished, and held excellent table manners. You paid close attention to your date’s courteous treatment of the wait-staff (as you’ve been taught to do) and concluded that THIS person was a rare find. You went home and told your friends, even your mother – “this is the one!”.
Fast-forward through several months of awkward dates, bad vibes, and horrid displays of behavior from this same person; but you’re still hanging on to that first experience. You keep making excuses for this person, hanging on to your first impression of them by a fingernail. Maybe you’re emotionally attached; or maybe (likely), subconsciously you don’t want that first impression to be proven wrong. After all, we count on our impressions and intuitions to formulate our relationships and to keep us safe.
Whatever the reason, if you find yourself in this space – read closely. Let. It. Go. They say, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and in this instance, that first date (or that first impression) may very well have been that persons “broken” best. If you haven’t witnessed the same remarkable, winning behavior since, chop off that mythical halo you’ve created and cut ties!