Everybody’s understanding of what is or isn’t real, is unique unto themselves. The way you might see an apple sitting on a table would be completely different to how I might see the same apple on the same table. Similarly the context of the statement must be placed in order to provide further meaning.
The table could be in the middle of the desert or out on a spaceship orbiting Mars. The apple would look very different then. Of course the ultimate context is time, the same apple 100 years ago would be a gene structure in an atom on a apple tree somewhere and the same apple 100 years in the future would be dust, or a forest of apple trees.
So what do I mean by perception of reality? Well it’s been scientifically shown that every second the human brain receives over 2 billion bits of data. This is everything you experience from the sounds you hear, things you see, food you eat, even down to the unconscious feelings you get whilst you sleep.
If we were to store and process this amount of data, we’d go insane instantly. The way our brains manage this information is to filter out what our perceptual filters deem as unnecessary for us to know. In the end, we store and process only a tiny fraction of the data we actually receive. The question you might wonder about is how our filters are created? Well these are determined over time through our models of communication.
They come from attitudes, beliefs, traditions, meta-programs, media, marketing, parental guidance etc. Here we begin to understand why each human being on the planet is unique in their perception of what is real. No 2 people could possible have an identical life experience rendering the exact same filters, so in essence they way one person makes a decision or choice, is always going to be different from another person making the same decision.
This is not to say there aren’t group similarities, of course there are, we have ethnicities, race, corporate rules, governing bodies, all of whom create rules and boundaries by which it is deemed we should or should not behave. However these are influences affecting the macro level, and to fully harness your own personal power, you need to discover your own micro filters which determine your perception to everybody else’s.
Your perception is your reality
The real power of this mindset starts to show itself when you begin to understand fully this concept that everybody sees things differently. It would enable you to develop deeper and more fulfilling relationships with the people in your life, be it your spouse, your business partner, your friends and family.
More often that not it would stop us from assuming the answer when we don’t really know what the pieces of the puzzle are, and make the wrong choices in life. Don’t assume, ask yourself the question, “How do I know?” Furthermore, it enables you to move beyond what are other people’s realities of yourself.
This is extremely empowering because you understand that when someone makes a statement about you, it is based only on their interpretation of reality. How often have you set yourself a goal or idea and someone close to you has turned around and said things like:
- “You’ll never make it, you don’t have the tenacity” or
- “Be careful of other people, they might take advantage of you” or
- “You don’t have the money to take that project on” or
- “Where are you going to find the time”
I’m sure you’ve heard them all just like I have, and there are many more.
This is what I mean by external influences creating your perceptual filters. After a while of hearing all these things, you begin to build it into your concept of reality and just like that, one day, you believe it to be true. Think of it this way, when you are 5 years old and you stood up and said, “I want to be an astronaut when I grow up”, and do you say that with the most utmost conviction believing it to be absolutely possible? Of course you do, at 5 yrs old, you don’t know otherwise, AND more importantly, you haven’t been pre-conditioned to believe it to be impossible.
The map is not the territory; it is merely a imitation rolex day date rolex calibre 2836 2813 mens m118348 0225 green dial gold tone representation of someone’s perception of it. Even if you drew a life size to scale map of say your house, it still would not be accurate. The point about this is, take control of your own reality.
This is your life, and if you aren’t in control, then someone else is. If you aren’t making the changes in your life right now, to live the life you choose, then take a moment and ask yourself, are you truly happy with the way things are in your life? I’ve chosen a little supporting video to help you understand this concept of memory and reality filters.
[videojs youtube=”http://youtu.be/0bzZIxo-ngk”]
