Being Perceptive: It's amazing

I think one of the most important character traits that a person can have is being perceptive. The easiest way to define perceptiveness is the ability to perceive things that happen around you and act upon them to make a better outcome than what would have been. It is a very valuable characteristic to have, because it leads to many other good traits. Most obvious and important of all is that it minimizes laziness and selfishness. We all possess a certain amount of perceptiveness, and it is up each individual to make it blossom into a powerful and effective characteristic. The following is a list that I’ve come up with of steps that show how to become a more perceptive person.

2) Doing things that people ask you to do not because you want to receive their praise or attention, but rather because you care about their needs.

3) Doing things for people without being asked, because you see what they need or want without them telling you.

4) Doing things (and sometimes not doing things) for people because you notice and perceive what they need or is best for them, including both physical and emotional things.

Examples of each step will be shown.

Here is one simple scenario that applies to each step: Taking out the garbage.

In step 3, you are standing in the kitchen and you see your spouse tie up the garbage and put a new bag into the can. You understand that the old garbage should be taken out, so you take it out.

In step 4, you are standing in the kitchen and you notice that the garbage can is very full. So you collect a few other things that are garbage from the kitchen table and counters, put them into the garbage can, and take it out, as well as put a new bag into the can.

In all of these scenarios, the same result is achieved. The difference is how it was achieved.

Now let us look at step 4. In step 4, you are doing the good deed because you were aware of its presence, not because it was put in front of you, like in step 3. In step 4, there is nothing lacking in the accomplishment of the deed. You are doing it to its fullest measure. The only way you would not have done it is if it were not able to be done. But at the same time, the only reason you were able to do it was because you were looking out for it. You found the good deed. It did not find you. That is the difference between steps 3 and 4.

There are times when being perceptive is barely doing something, doing something that takes little effort, and sometimes even no action at all, just saying something. A good example of an act of perception that takes little effort but requires a certain level of understanding is the following:

You are sitting at a red light, and there are a few cars in front of you. There is a left turning lane with a turning signal on the traffic light. Your car is right where the turning lane opens up, and you notice that the car behind you has its left turning signal on. In this situation, you can move your car forward a little to let the car behind you enter the turning lane, thereby saving him time from waiting at the intersection for all the oncoming traffic to pass so he can turn. This act of perception, however, can only be done by someone who understands a certain concept that many people unfortunately have trouble comprehending. It is the idea that there are other people in the world, besides you, that have schedules, things to do, and places to be.

The common theme between 3rd level compliments, 2nd level thank yous, and Step 4 active perception is that for all of them, you must be aware and looking out for these things.