Today I was leaving work and then all the sudden this guy says, "have a good day" when I'm putting trash in the trashcan. I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or the customer. I look at him and don't say anything; just stare, give a half smile, and walk out. I feel really bad now. There's always something I mess up with every shift... With my luck he will run into me again and be mad. I did this again when I was walking to a meeting. This lady says, "how are you" then I go "uhh hi" and keep walking. People just startle me... I think because growing up nobody really cared if I said anything except teachers and now it's ruining adult life. gahh
anyone else?
yup, it's definintely got to do with upbringing and your interactions with family and any friends and environments growing up. it's just the luck of draw, also your own personality affects your interactions. But you can always improve with practice and maybe just prepare a few responses on a notepad, think of some simple responses will help.
I find a lot of people aren't that self-conscious. they are locked into their own world and any interactions started by them is self fulfilling to them in a selfish way. not always, but a lot of the time. something about always having ego. which means they probably don't care if you saud "uhh hi" or if you said a long response. Because they do things for one reason, to suit their needs.
In any conversation what happens most of the time? People want to talk about their interests or themselves. "I" is one of the most commonly used words in conversation.
So when you look at the big picture, does any of it really matter? How you respond doesn't really matter, because people usually are locked into their own worlds with tunnel vision. Because they aren't as self-conscious as other people, and they won't be as sensitive at reacting to things like someone with anxiety would be. Most things wash over confident people pretty easily.
Yes, nice people will interact with you. But so many people have rutheless tunnel vision ego that I just wouldn't care, they probably forgot about any incidents a minutes after it was over and moved on.