I cannot stand pineapple. I never have liked it, and when I was a kid I was forced to eat it and I vomited and that was the end of that. I can't even stand the smell of it. There are people who love pineapple and cannot understand why I don't like it. I'm sure there are foods that I love that other people can't stand.
I noticed as I have shifted from a content consumer to a content creator, I have made a subtle change in how I view preferences.
I noticed as I have shifted from a content consumer to a content creator, I have made a subtle change in how I view preferences.
Original view: "I cannot stand pineapple."
This is an egocentric statement. It gives the impression that I am writing off pineapple regardless of who may like it.
Revised view: "I am not the audience for pineapple."
This statement allows me to acknowledge that I don't like pineapple, but it keeps the door open that there is an audience for pineapple.
My girlfriend likes the show The Golden Girls, which doesn't do anything for me. She is in the audience for that show and I am not. I like Star Wars, and she's not a fan. Different audiences. We both like Breaking Bad. Same audience.
Anytime I start to wonder how someone can like something that I don't or vice versa, I frame it in terms of an audience. It's a simple but powerful change.
-micro-thumb.jpg)
I say this so adamantly because I used to be a proud 'scoffer' of other people's tastes. Now you might say that I might be scoffing at people I just listed above, but in this case it's not taste I'm scoffing at but rather a level of immaturity.