In only 1/10th of one second, the new person you just met has decided if they can trust you. One tenth of one second. Have you ever done this? Met someone and had an instant reaction, either good or bad? It’s visceral. The article that mentioned this stat went on to mention a number of tactics you can use to modify how others perceive you. What became apparent to me after reading this article was the concept of authenticity. The tactics the article mentioned were not super difficult (smiling, eye contact, mirroring, etc.), but if these things aren’t a natural part of who you are, you won’t be able to fake it and pass our instant BS detector. Remember, we can determine whether you are trustworthy in just a blink. So, don’t fake it. Instead, work on it. Deliberately and over time. The idea is to retrain yourself and incorporate the tactics so much so that these behaviors become who you are. They become authentic behaviors. Old dogs can learn new tricks. Except in this case the benefits go way beyond entertainment.
First day of the rest of your life or all downhill from here
"Every day is better than the next." I missed it the first time I heard this line in the movie, "There's Something About Mary." This time, I got it. After laughing I realized something. I have spent years of my life on the wrong side of the equation. "Every day is...