What Did You Do With Jill?Jill Whalen's healthy lifestyle transformation                                               

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Part of life entails making snap judgments about people and circumstances. As soon as we learn to talk or even just understand language, we start categorizing and labeling everything we encounter.

This labeling, however, leads us to making assumptions–especially about people. As soon as we meet someone new we try to figure out what they’re about and who they remind us of. There’s nothing wrong with doing this, but when we “typecast” others consciously or unconsciously it can cause problems.

I saw this in action recently when an old friend of mine was accused of being a “certain type” by someone who didn’t know her very well.

Here’s how it played out…

My friend (let’s call her Jane) is an attractive young woman who has many friends of both sexes. She is outgoing and has an endearing, authentic personality. One of her single male friends (let’s call him Bob) started dating and eventually married a woman named Kim. When Kim first came into Bob’s life, Jane was happy for him.  She did what she could to befriend her, but Kim kept her distance. Jane felt an underlying tension when they were together. It wasn’t a big deal to Jane, but she wished she could be friends with Bob and Kim as a couple. At some point, Jane moved to another state and didn’t see much of either of them. She did keep in touch with Bob, however, as they sometimes worked together.

After a few years of being away, Jane was offered a job back home. Jane was excited to move back and let her old friends (including Bob) know she was coming. Soon after being back, she was at a friend’s party and ran into Kim and Bob. Kim became upset when she realized that Jane had moved back in town and accused Bob of keeping this information from her.

A few days later, Kim heard from another friend that Bob and Jane had met for lunch–and this time she really freaked out. In her “crazy” state of mind, she wrote a scathing email to Jane about her “breaking up her marriage,” and how she was a “terrible, evil person who steals men from other women.” Jane was aghast when reading Kim’s words. While she always felt tension between them, she had no idea of the extent of Kim’s feelings towards her. She was especially surprised to be categorized as a “home wrecker.” She would never go after anyone’s husband or boyfriend, nor did she have any interest in Bob other than as a friend.

Now I know Jane pretty well. And she’s nothing like how Kim was portraying her. In fact, she’s the exact opposite!

Yet in Kim’s mind, she clearly saw Jane that way.

While I felt bad for my friend being accused of such awful things, from a psychological point of view, I found Kim’s email fascinating!

Seeing so clearly how one person’s view of someone can be so far off was more proof to me of how we create and live in our own separate realities. To Kim, Jane was clearly a home wrecker. There was no doubt in her mind about Jane’s intentions towards her husband. Nothing anyone might say was going to change her mind.

Even more fascinating to me was how I could see my own “crazy thinking” in Kim’s words.

Not about Jane, mind you. But I’ve had my own bouts of jealousy in the past. I’ve had judgments about certain people being home wreckers or husband stealers. All because they reminded me of people in my past who I believed were that type.

The difference between me and Kim is that I know (usually!) that my jealousy is not to be trusted. While it certainly feels real while I am under its spell, deep down I know it’s made up.

What Kim did, was what we all do–typecast another person. We all meet people who seem similar to others we’ve known in the past and think “I know your type”! Then we put them into that box in our head, slap a label on it and judge them from that vantage point. Within that framework, everything they do will seem to fit the label we’ve given them.

All the while, we made up the whole thing!  

Now, this is not to say that there’s no such thing as home wreckers or husband stealers. I’m sure there are. But the more we believe our insecure thoughts and act from that place, the more likely our fears will come true. If we’re concerned about our partner’s behavior, it makes more sense to have a rational discussion with them about it when we’re not feeling angry or hurt. This can do wonders to clear up a lot of misunderstandings we may have.

It’s hard to say what will happen with Bob and Kim. Sadly, Kim’s insecurities could ultimately destroy their marriage. As long as she believes her jealousy is real and warranted, she may continue to act in ways that drive a wedge between them.

Meanwhile, Jane has moved on and has tried to stay out of Bob’s life. But it’s a shame that they can’t be friends.

What about you? Can you relate to Kim at all? Have you ever imagined others to be something they’re not? I’m curious to know your thoughts about this!

–Jill

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Jill Whalen

CONTACT JILL WHALEN to learn how she may help you be the best you can be.

Jill is the author of Victim of Thought: Seeing Through the Illusion of Anxiety

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For the past 20 years, Jill has consulted with companies big and small, and spoken at conferences all over the world. She is currently a transformational speaker and mentor to businesses, individuals, coaches, leaders, groups and organizations. She helps them uncover their natural well-being and happiness so that they can operate from a clearer state of mind and take their lives and businesses to a higher level.

Jill's blog, What Did You Do With Jill? is a personal account of what she's learned throughout her transformational journey. Jill has many "viral" articles on LinkedIn and is a contributing writer for P.S. I Love You.

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