You've no doubt heard the term Selective Listening (SL). Kids are experts at this ("I didn't hear you ask me take out the garbage! Honest."), and husbands come in a close second. I'm ok with this; I've found ways to overcome SL. It's simple really—after I've asked them to do something, I inquire: "Did you hear what I just said?" or "Do you understand?" or "Hello?! Are you listening to me?" or "Please take those things out of your ears and listen to me." Sometimes I forget to follow up for confirmation of message received—I'm in a hurry or being forgetful myself, so on occasion I still get: "What are you talking about?" or "You asked me to do what?" or "I just must not have heard you." or the very wise, "If I would have known you wanted that done, of course I would have done it!" or the one about the garbage. Anyway, like I said, when I'm on my toes, I can prevail over SL.

What I haven't figured out how to directly deal with is Selective Noticing (SN)—sometimes also known as (in my own mind) Selective Seeing. So, what is SN, you ask? Note: I hate to typecast, but after speaking with quite a few women about this, they all, 100%, related to what I was saying. So, I'll go ahead and lump all women together and all men together for the sake of this blog. Many of you probably know what SN is—after all the title is pretty much the definition, but do let me clarify.