Blind Spots: Intentions v/s Perception of Actions

 

I often find quite a bit of difference between one’s self-perception and perception of one by others. That's where concepts like Johari window and 360 degree processes add value – they make individuals aware of their blind spots.

 

Even well intentioned people seem to have these blind spots. When I first realized this, I was a bit surprised.

 

But then, should it be a surprise?

 

I think the cause of this phenomenon is - we evaluate ourselves on basis of intentions behind our actions while others evaluate us on basis of how our actions are perceived by them'.

 

This also is probably cause for the phenomenon of - we don't seem to live up to the standards we expect from others.

We see actions of others, which we perceive to fall short of standards we expect.

Similarly our actions are perceived by others to fall short of these standards. But we don't realize it as we evaluate ourselves on basis of intentions behind our actions; these intentions usually meet the standard.

 

Hence an important step in self-awareness is to figure out how our actions are being perceived by others.

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Sourav