🚀 go-pugleaf

Gary Brainin (garygm@goonsquad.spies.com) wrote:

:    Well, two things: first, your counterexample doesn't disprove the
: original statement.  And second, if you're unhappy that people think
: the way they do about you, *do* something about it.  Or quit whining.

	I like the "quit whining" part -- people are always gonna think 
about us whatever they want to think about us, so don't worry about that 
too much.  

	But don't change simply because people think a certain way about 
you.  It's often very likely that either they're thinking wrong, or their 
opinion isn't useful to you anyway.  So take what you can, and leave the 
rest.

: interviewers to take my clothing as an indicator of my suitability.
: Nevertheless, I'm damn sure I'm going to wear a suit and tie, because
: they *will*.

	Of course, it helps if we present ourselves appropriate to *what 
we want*.  I'm guessing that you'll wear a suit and tie because that 
*particular* position is one where a suit and tie is an indicator of your 
suitability for the job.  

	Not to knock a suit and tie, or any other form of apparel, but 
the world does not operate with only one set of clothes.  There *are* 
positions where dressing up in a suit and tie are not required, actually 
not even appropriate, and in interviewing for *those* positions you may 
have to adjust your "look" accordingly.  I'm not saying this to denigrate 
your point about presenting ourselves to others in the best possible 
light, but to add to it and say:  We do our best "presenting" to others 
when we take the time and effor to find out what *they* are looking for, 
how they look at it, and how we can relate.  If we *assume* that they 
will or won't like certain things about us without first checking, we can 
go seriously wrong.

	And this is a long way of saying, you can assume some things 
about people based on certain aspects of their appearance or presentation 
(e.g. their clothes, their car), but you should be aware that it is only 
an *assumption*, until you take the time and effort to know more about them.

	Otherwise you miss out on a lot.  Any fool can operate their 
lives on generalities -- it's the specifics that really take a wise person.

							Oz