Be aware of your biases

A few years ago, I was moving from Cleveland to Chicago. I was in a somber mood since I was not happy about shifting from a familiar setting to a huge unknown city. My flight was in the early hours of the morning and I reached the airport around midnight. There were many people waiting for the same flight and the waiting area was fully occupied, with many folks taking up three seats to lie down and sleep. The only vacant seat I noticed was next to a man who made me feel uncomfortable due to his rough appearance. He was heavily tattooed and had piercings all over his face. I ended up choosing another spot to occupy while I waited.

My flight was uneventful. On landing, I took my bags and made my way out of the airport. I was jumpy and disoriented and consequently was not paying attention to my surroundings. I was brought to a halt when I bumped into something. I found my head spinning as I hit it against a hard surface and was lying flat on the ground with my bags. Then someone helped to pull me up and asked if I was alright. I looked up and found myself staring at the man I had refused to sit next to at the airport earlier that day. He was extremely polite, asked me if I needed water and helped me with my bags as well. I thanked him profusely and as he left, a thought came to my mind, and has stayed with me since. I have ensured that I do not jump to quick conclusions and pass judgments on a person simply because of their appearance or initial interaction, based on my internal biases. Our preconceived notions can often be faulty and a result of our own conditioning, and not representative of the other person.

(This blog was penned by Mridula Matta from our L&D team at Clear.)