This is going to be an oversimplification and an overgeneralisation.
That means I’m not talking about you, so it doesn’t have to perfectly describe you.
But if any of this rings true for you at all…
There are some folks who, through mental laziness, an indulgent upbringing or just plain stupidity, try to make sense of other people in simple ways.
Like they apply a too-simplistic rule (“all men are intimidated by me”).
Or they assume everyone thinks like them (“I’d never get upset by this, so they’re just faking those tears”).
Or they forget that Professor X is a) one dude and b) fictional (“isn’t it OBVIOUS that I want a sandwich? Why aren’t they getting me one too?”).
Folks like this are miserable and pathetic. There’s no excusing being this self-absorbed and oblivious. It’s a universal, fundamental and essential human trait to figure out what others think.
All happiness and success lies on the other side of figuring out what people want and need from you.
Bypassing that dooms you. It dooms you hard.
The worst part is when you inevitably fail – when romantic prospects don’t see how OBVIOUSLY AMAZING you are or “stupid customers” don’t get your OBVIOUSLY AMAZING products – you won’t even think to look to the cause.
You’ll blame anyone and everyone else for your failure to interest them.
It’s sad.
And, while this has dogged every generation, it’s rampant now.
You’d think this would be difficult to teach, but you’d be wrong.
That’s what Your Story Isn’t About You covers. Getting out of your own head and seeing the world as others see it- it’s your duty and you’ll likely earn great rewards for it.
If not, you can keep the windows of your mind closed and the curtains drawn until the air in your skull turns stale and you choke.
It’s up to you: