What You See Is What Others See
How many times do we sit through meetings feeling frustrated and annoyed because others can’t seem to keep up? This came up in a recent meeting when a consultant reminded us of two of the greatest fallacies in our world—WYSIWOS (What You See Is What Others See) and WYSIATI (What You See Is All There Is).
Even at this late stage in my life I find myself surprised to find that what I see isn’t necessarily what others see (WYSIWOS), and that conclusions that are evident to me based on what I’ve seen or heard aren’t shared by others who’ve seen or heard the same things. When I stop to think, of course, I realize that people interpret information differently, and that my interpretation in just and only that—mine.
It’s often even harder to remember that there may be much more to a story, issue or situation than what I see or hear at any given time (WYSIATI). I have to continually remind myself to check to see if other information is available before I jump to conclusions.
We live in an age of immediacy—we expect everything to occur RIGHT NOW! We want responses to our calls, e-mails and texts RIGHT NOW! We expect information to be available RIGHT NOW! We are permanently attached to our computers, phones and other devices, and we hate to put them aside, even to eat, drive, enjoy family time or sleep. We don’t like to wait for anything, and we get impatient when things don’t zip along according to our self-imposed schedules. It’s almost as if our self images and personal validations are bound up in how busy we are and how much we feel we have to do.
It occurs to me to wonder whether this state of affairs is doing any favours – for us or the people around us. We talk a lot about work/life balance, but how much balance can there be when we’re continually at the beck and call of some device? Doesn’t anyone else yearn for the good old days when you could close the door on the phone or escape to your car? I certainly don’t have the solutions, but I suggest we’d all do well to consider the effects this emphasis on immediacy has on our bodies and our psyches. Gaining a modicum of control over the demands on our life and time can only have a beneficial effect on our physical and mental well-being.
Something to think about…
— Lyn Policha, Policy Analyst, WJS Canada