Have you ever been to a new restaurant and had a terrible experience? Did you ever return to this restaurant? Have you ever read a book that you didn’t like and never read that author again?
What happened to the time when individuals gave people, places, and things second chances?
I know a number of individuals who will not consider second and third chances. If something does not agree with these individuals the first time they do not consider it again. Even if the event, place, person, or experience happened a long time ago and may have improved.
A part of me doesn’t blame them for denying the second chance. First impressions are some of the most important impressions anything (or anyone) can make. They are the defining moment of all relationships, and they are rarely forgotten. Think about the most recent person you met, or the last, new restaurant you visited; the first day of your new job; or the first car you owned. I’m sure you remember all of these.
Because we don’t forget the first impression, we are prone to either like or dislike something from that moment forward. The mind needs a reference when it is led back to this something. A bad first impression usually tells the mind that a second impression will be bad too.
On the other hand, first impressions are not absolute truth, nor do they indicate constant experience. Many of us are prone to give that second chance in the hope for improvement, and there are times when improvement is apparent. This doesn’t mean that we forget the first (as was my experience with that radiologist many years ago), but it does mean we are more open-minded to a second possibility.
Now there are believers in the expression, three strikes and you’re out. This means that a third chance is given with the hope that major improvement will be present, and usually this third chance is done after an unsuccessful first and second one. It gives something the opportunity to improve and prove itself one final time, but it also does something more important. It recognizes forgiveness.
Often there is no need to give anything a second or third chance because we have the choice of a thousand alternatives. But isn’t life enhanced when we give someone, or something, another chance to be better?
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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