You send a message to a friend. Hours pass. No reply. One part of your mind says they're probably busy. Another part is already convinced you said something wrong, that they're avoiding you, that the friendship is somehow damaged. Same silence. Two completely different emotional experiences. Your phone didn't change. The situation didn't change. Only your interpretation did. And that interpretation—that story you told yourself in the gap between sending and waiting—determined whether you spent the evening relaxed or anxious. This happens constantly. We move through life not as it actually is, but as we understand it. And most of the time, we don't even notice we're doing the understanding part. The Two Directions Some people are excellent at reading the outside world. They notice when someone's mood shifts. They pick up on social dynamics quickly. They're adaptive, aware, street-smart. That's valuable. But there's another directio...