“Is It Something You Do?”

I’ve been training a new guy at work and he has asked me this question quite a bit. I tell him something and he asks me if it’s something I do [myself]. It had annoyed me a little bit because I’m the type of person who wouldn’t (although my lack of wanting to say that I’m 100% certain of anything leads me to want to interject “most of the time”) say for someone to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.

I’d kept /I keep wondering if it’s a cultural thing for him, or something that perhaps has bitten him in the back previously. Perhaps he may be a bit suspicious?

I don’t know.

I have been thinking about how people see things lately. My cousin and one other person had told me off because I typed out “[shrug]” as a response in a chat. I’d meant “I don’t know/I’m not sure”, but they’d interpreted it as “I don’t care/give a fuck”.

People at work have interpreted when I have my earbuds in listening to podcasts (and even then, most people seem to think I’m listening to music rather than podcasts) that I don’t want anyone to talk to me. I’ve literally had to say to people they can indeed approach me whenever I have earbuds in because I don’t mean for them to think I don’t want to talk to anyone. Whenever anyone’s walked into a room while I’m wearing them, I’ve greeted that person.

Yes, I’m an introvert and have some social anxiety, but it doesn’t mean I’m standoffish or wanting to be/seem rude intentionally.

It’s just strange how so many social cues that I suppose people use in one way to be passive-aggressive (passive-aggressiveness being something I’ve come to about loathe lately) I somehow use innocently and people may think I’m using them the same way. I’ve often not even thought of it until someone brings it up.

It may be just a slight removal from someone being unaware the way they use a phrase may actually offend someone. We humans interpret things in different ways. But fuck-all if it’s annoying.