"Out, damned spot; out, I say."
–Lady Macbeth (and Kristin Bock)
“When is the last time someone cleaned that bathroom?!” I whisper to my family while sitting down to eat. We are at a fast food restaurant and my daughter and I have just come from using the restroom to wash our hands. My daughter doesn’t notice anything but I see dirt everywhere–especially on the floor and baseboards in the restroom. |
Why?
Our family is on a 7-hour car ride back home and I have just spent the last week cleaning and now all I can see is dirt.
Reason #1
I was cleaning our house for guests renting our home (our city has a big airplane convention each year so we rent our house out and go on vacation!)
Reason #2
I was helping clean my son’s college apartment and move him out (yay, he graduated and now is gainfully employed!)
Ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?
It’s that thing that happens when “something you recently learned suddenly appears everywhere”.
In my case, because I’ve been deep cleaning so my eyes immediately go to baseboards and corners along with smudges and smears and crumbs.
And just like the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, now everywhere I look I see things that need to be cleaned.
Baseboards
Stairsteps
Toaster ovens
Smudges on appliances
Inside the microwave
Curtains
And don’t even get me started on ceiling fans and lights!
I have viewed my living space from a whole new angle and now I can't unsee it.
Please tell me you've had similar experiences.
You know, like when you are car shopping and zero in on a model you like and then you see it everywhere?
Or a pair of shoes, a backpack, or a sweater (such as the Patagonia Better Sweater)
I had a similar experience when I started learning about nonverbal communication.
The body language cues I was learning about, suddenly started appearing everywhere!
Cues like:
- The Steeple
- The Fig Leaf
- The Head Tilt
- The Lip Purse
- Open Hand Gestures
- Distancing (days after learning about this I noticed a prominent politician take a step backward when asked a tough question on TV)
Note Oprah’s open hand gestures and steepling!
Being able to recognize body language cues is like seeing the world in high definition.
Learning about body language and nonverbal cues often is like a scavenger hunt– how many can you spot out in the wild?
So tell me...
What cues have you spotted since learning about body language?
How has this helped your communication?
What nonverbal cue are you unable to unsee now?
And…
What Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon have you experienced?
I need to know that I’m not alone!
Your co-pilot (who currently feels compelled to bring sanitizing wipes everywhere she goes),
