Learn from the mistakes of others

people make assumptions all the time. this is not necessarily a bad thing. after all, if we had to establish every fact before we could make a decision, we'd all be stymied. problem is, many - perhaps most - people confuse assumptions with facts. and then often go on to confuse their conclusions with facts.

consider, for example, the habit of judging people by their appearance. many people assume that they can correctly judge a person just by looking at them. this can lead to interesting results.

i catch buses to get around. so i'm in public all the time. which gives me a lot of opportunities to observe other people. and for them to observe me. most of the time i dress casually. very casually. and with my aging wardrobe, i look the part of a student or unemployed bum. but occasionally, i dress up. it is fascinating to notice the change in peoples attitudes towards me when i do. most of the time, i get a quick glance and then dismissed. but in a suit, i get a more through appraisal. particularly by women. which is not so bad ;)

ok. i'm not complaining about that. actually, i'm not really complaining at all. just musing on some observations.

a little while ago

i got all dressed up and wandered the streets, and the buses, in a suit. i quickly realised i received the occasional approving glance. a few of my fellow travellers, having seen me many times before in street clothes were surprised to see me in a suit. at least one seemed pleasantly surprised.

in fact, i think she was shocked. in a good/nice way. the bum she thought she knew has a suit, and knows how to wear it. [she certainly knows how to wear her clothes ... hmmm ... : grin :]

i bring all this up, because i have been musing over my desire to be working, and my decision to be looking for lawyering jobs over teaching or whatever. lawyering would certainly have me in a suit all day.

so what does this have to do with my opening comments. well, it occurred to me the other day that self-confidence is the key to so many positive things that have happened in the past that i really, really need to work on recovering it. even if it means dressing up in the suit and just wandering around town coz i have nothing better to do.

and when i do, i ought to say something to the mousey blonde woman who sits five-seven seats back from the front. [something positive. and not odd. i'm sure i can do that.]