I was talking with someone today and realized I did something I do quite often that might be a trait that gets me into trouble: I boldly state my preference for (or against) something.
In this case, it was being tired of classic rock from a lifetime of overexposure. I think I offended the person, but saved it by clarifying that I’m mostly tired that there is a play list of seemingly 100-songs that have been in continual rotation for 50 years.
Anyway, it occurs to me that I’m just stating my preferences and I personally thing that’s fine and normal, but that people get personally offended if you don’t like what they like; which makes no sense to me. It’s like if you don’t like bland food, I’m not going to get offended because I can’t handle anything hotter than black pepper. It doesn’t ultimately mean anything significant.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
Among people who trust you, I would expect no problems. Among those who don’t (yet), I would expect a variety of interpretations, ranging from “That’s just their opinion” to “They seem to think their opinion is the only one that matters!” and “I guess since I like it and they don’t, they look down on me”.
Folks routinely conflate directness with self-importance, even though I value directness for its clarity. They often see directness as self-assuredness, then mistake that for self-importance or self-absorption. 🤷