Prompt: Write about a time you were misunderstood.
Today’s prompt is: Write about a time you were misunderstood.
There have been a lot of times when I was misunderstood. But, honestly, it’s probably because I wasn’t articulating myself very well.
In the description for today’s prompt, the last sentence reads:
Perhaps being understood begins with understanding ourselves.
I think that really gets to the heart of it.
When I can’t figure out what I’m thinking or feeling, it’s very hard to communicate those thoughts clearly to someone else. Of course, that leaves plenty of room for misunderstanding.
The same thing happens when I’m feeling fear or shame about what I truly want. I don’t express myself honestly, and that creates more opportunities to be misunderstood. Then, later, I feel frustrated that the other person didn’t understand me.
I think relationships are probably where I’ve felt the impact of being misunderstood the most.
It wasn’t until after a failed relationship, when I took some time for myself and decided, “You know what? Just get yourself a couple of cats and be happy,” that things started to fall into place.
There’s an old saying that you’ll find the right person when you stop looking, and I think there’s some truth to it. When you stop searching for someone else to fill the gaps in your life, you start paying attention to yourself instead. You begin to understand what those gaps actually are—and, more importantly, how to fill them yourself.
For me, woodworking became one of those things. It filled something that had been missing. I don’t think I would have discovered that if I’d been focused on someone else or constantly chasing a relationship instead of getting to know myself.
The same pattern shows up at work.
Teaching isn’t a siloed profession, even if, sometimes, I wish it were. Communicating my intentions, my thinking, or my approach to teaching can be difficult. Again, I think fear and shame creep in. I don’t want to upset someone else. Sometimes I don’t hold firmly enough to my own perspective, or I’m not willing to have the uncomfortable conversation that comes with defending it.
And all of that creates opportunities for misunderstanding.
So I suppose that final line from today’s prompt really captured something important for me:
Perhaps being understood begins with understanding ourselves.
As I think about it now, maybe the times I’ve felt most misunderstood weren’t really about other people at all. Maybe they began with me not fully understanding myself.
This post was transcribed from an audio recording and lightly edited with the assistance of AI to improve clarity while preserving the original voice and intent.
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