The Perils of Self Awareness
Has this ever happened to you?
You get on an elevator full of complete strangers. Overhearing their spirited dialogue, you start to mutter as if you are, in fact, part of the in-flight discussion. Things like, “…umm-hmm…”, “…mmm…”, or perhaps “…great…” roll off your tongue as you nod and gesture in their direction. You arrive at your floor and depart, completely unaware of having uttered a single phrase.
Well, apparently this is something I do all the time!
In a fit of laughter, my wife recently conveyed this subconscious outer-dialogue to some friends over dinner. She does a great impression of me in this situation, with “GREAT!!” as the ultimate finale to my complete and utter lack of self awareness. It’s undeniably hilarious and part of the give-and-take that makes us such a great match.
When I started to think it over last night, it made my wonder what other nonsense I might be doing without knowing it. Am I calling out the names of colors when I see a brightly lit storefront? Do I sit in meetings and rock out to a song in my head? As I’m typing this very message, am I reading it aloud in a fake British accent? ….I perish at the thought….
Thank goodness for significant others who can help us laugh at ourselves when we need to the most. And what have I learned from all this? As normal as I think I am, we all have our booths in the great sideshow of life.
Let’s keep the conversation going.