When Someone Misunderstands You…
She is a very good friend of mine, though we have been getting along for a few months. We talk at least once a day. We are used to sharing any forward messages, videos, or something with each other, which we like.
The day before yesterday, when I took a day off, I called her and talked for a while. After the call, she WhatsApped me, and I responded to her in a comical way and went to bed. I have spoken to her so many times like this before. But particularly that day, she misconstrued it, thinking that I was mad at her over something. That is why I sent her a message like that.
Yesterday, when I woke up, I was shocked to see her messages saying, “Sorry, I know you are mad at me. Because of that, you sent a message like that. I sometimes do that unknowingly, and I will make sure to not hurt you in any way.”
For me, I didn’t even remember the message. I went back to the chat and saw my previous message, but I didn’t find anything wrong with it. “Why is she talking about things that I never thought about? It was just a joke message. Why is she complicating herself so much?”
While these kinds of thoughts were going through my mind while lying in bed, my mobile rang. I reached out to the mobile lazily and saw the caller name flashed in it. It was my superior. She never calls me in the morning hours before I log in, unless there is an emergency. I did attend her call, and she told me about the negative feedback from the customer on one of my projects. Before attending her call, I guessed from my previous experience that this call would give me some bad news. Whenever I take leave, the next few days can’t be manageable, and I would feel like a hell.
“OMG, I’m doomed. I will have to answer for everyone on behalf of my team.” I need to prepare the report for feedback. I will have to stay in the meeting room for the next few days to answer my superiors. It will affect my routine work.”
In the midst of these thoughts, I forgot her message completely. During my work, I remembered but didn’t want to respond. I knew she was having a breakdown. But I didn’t know how to make her understand. Because when someone misunderstands you, if you talk through messages, that never helps. Maybe it helps to exacerbate the situation. Unfortunately, I didn’t get enough time to explain things to her from my point of view. As I was busy all day, I couldn’t pick up her calls.
Today, once my situation got back to normal in the office, I called her and explained. There were no complications, as I anticipated. The conversation was very simple. Then I thought that if I had responded to her messages, it might have gotten worse. Be it big or small, a problem is a problem. But the way we handle that matters a lot.
How do you handle the situation if somebody misconstrues you?
Let me know in the comments. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
