Mixed messages: how to make sense of it all

 

Mixed messages play havoc with logic. Just when you think you understand a simple concept, doubt creeps in and you begin to question your sanity, your ability to reason—everything you thought to be true. In the publishing world, there is frequent interaction between publisher and advertisers, authors, sales reps, subscribers and so on. As concise as one can be through email, there is often room for interpretation on both sides, which may lead to miscommunication, lost time and, not uncommon, bruised feelings. With the majority of business and social communique handled via digital means, it might require an old-fashioned phone call to right a wrong or lend clarity to a situation in order to move forward. It isn’t necessarily about the mistake or misunderstanding, because we are human and they happen. It’s how we react in the moment, mindful that relationships—business or otherwise—are always hanging in the balance. And that pride goes before a fall every time.

How do you make sense of mixed messages?

Photo courtesy of Pansa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Getting to the root of it all

[Image credit: kangshutters]

A couple of weeks ago, the weekend started out on the wrong foot.  First, my plans were derailed, and then a dear friend and I experienced a big miscommunication.  At the same time, I was fighting a major post-vacation funk and feeling sorry for myself.  Add to that some off and on stomach distress, as well as hurtful words volleyed back and forth with a close relative, and I possessed the Rx for a disastrous two days.  Even though they were all symptoms of a deeper malady, it seems it’s oftentimes easier to dwell on these surface things that can bring us down.  But the next day at the gym, I poured myself into strengthening my body and disciplining my mind.  And when I arrived home an hour and a half later, I was energized and determined to put on my big girl panties and get to the root of it all.

Do you focus on the surface things, or try to find the cause of the greater problem?

Listening to your heart

[Image credit: taoty]

Money may be an issue.  Distance can create challenges.  Lack of communication, miscommunication, commitments, poor timing — these are a few of the logistics that try to pound a nail into the coffin of our dreams, when the heart cries out something completely different.  I wonder if it’s possible, then, to don the blinders in order to maintain focus on our desires — without allowing reason to squash our hopes.  After all, common sense doesn’t always take into consideration that certain things defy logic, and that’s just the way it is.  Period, end of story.  Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be a writer, or a beach bum or a multitude of other wishes, but you have a family to support, you’re allergic to sand or you’re not the throw caution to the wind type.  That doesn’t mean your heart isn’t talking.  You simply may not be listening hard enough.  The outcome, the one you work toward and dream of every day, doesn’t have to change.  You do.

Never let the odds keep you from doing what you
know in your heart you were meant to do. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Does your head tell you one thing, while your heart beats out a different tune?