The Power of First Impressions

A first impression is usually the first thought, opinion, or judgment we have about something at a first glance. These judgments could be towards anything, such as an individual, an object, a place, and the like. There's a common saying that first impressions matter most, and to be honest, they really don't, and that's why it's always good to present ourselves in a good and decent light at all times, because if someone sees you in a negative light during the first meeting, it'll be quite difficult to convince such a person that you're not that type of person. The same is the case when you do something positive, even if that's not your kind of person; such a person will perceive you as a kind-hearted individual going forward.

So with that being understood, it'll keep advising the person to present themselves in the best way possible. You can't tell me that someone coming to your workplace for the first time shouldn't judge the company and all the staff members as being a bunch of untidy people when my first impression of stepping into that space is finding everywhere littered with dirt. So we must try to be consistent with our acts daily because it'll be difficult to erase the thought of how you first see someone or something from your mind. But then can first impressions be misleading? The truth is that yes, it really can be misleading and I'll state why it can be misleading below.

Using a biblical character as an example, we all read of how Moses was said to be the meekest man in the Bible, and from his way of life, these ways were quite evident. However, despite all the accolades the Bible has to say about Moses, it won't be surprising if someone who saw him for the first time had a first impression of seeing him descending from Mount Sinai and angrily breaking the tablets God gave him and asking him to write the 10 commandments. Such a person will think Moses is an angry bird, but they know that some situations can just make you show a different version of yourself. And in that case, such a first impression would be misleading because Moses isn't actually that kind of person.

I'm not the type of person who likes to pretend about things, so I really wouldn't advise anyone to pretend to be who or what they're not all because they want to give a positive first impression. In my opinion, I'll advise that everyone live a good life and cultivate the habit of consistency so that the good life they've always loved will be what they'll show even in a new environment, even when faced with annoying situations that could have made someone else flip out if such a person had had good anger management and self-control. People will have a positive first impression of them even in the fast of unpleasant situations due to how they handled it.

I really don't think negative first impressions last longer than positive ones; the thing is just that we've all mostly built walls around our hearts, and once we've a negative first impression about someone, we always want to abstain or keep ourselves safe from such persons. Meanwhile, if it's a positive impression, we find ways to come close to such a person or thing, and with time we would have such a bond that we might not even remember how we first met because we've built several other memories with that person. Meanwhile, the person whom we have a negative first impression about mostly doesn't even have another opportunity to change our mindset about them because we tend to create a gap between them and ourselves.

All photos are mine.