You are constantly processing information- and that process is a product of your conditioning, experiences, talent, environment, and so much more.
The interesting thing is what and who you choose to focus on, and how things are interpreted. For many, the guiding principle is past performance. It is a natural human (and animal) tendency to believe that new situations should be put in a pattern or routine- and will resolve like past events; even if the current situation contains only a morsel of the past.
This is strongly re-enforced by our sense of security, because it would be too threatening if we concluded that something was totally new. And in this projection process, we often project our fears and shortcomings onto others- creating a further obstacle to our desired result. Constant low grade awareness is the only antidote to doing this: the best thing to do is to simply pause for a few seconds, minutes, or however long it takes, and to then take action. You will not only encounter so much less resistance, but feel better, and come closer to your goal.