Practical Perception

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In a previous blog, perception and reality were discussed.  Can you see the world through the eyes of another person?  Are you able to take on a different perspective?   Try this exercise and let me know what you find:

Take a minute to scan your surroundings. Are you in a familiar place or somewhere new?

Stop reading this, and just look around you.

Pick out an object, maybe something you hadn’t noticed before, and focus your attention on it. Once you really focus, it will begin to radiate and become more “real” than it was when it was just an unnoticed piece of the background noise of your life.

Now, attempt to see your surroundings from the object’s point of view. This may be easy for some but extremely difficult for others. Depending on how capable you are at focusing your concentration, you may notice a slight shift in your perception - a weird jump in reality, where you suddenly view the world from a different perspective.

Did it work? Whether you noticed anything or not, your perception did change, even if for an instant.

It is important to be conscious of your perception.  Did you consciously decide to create the reality you’re living now or was it largely shaped by parents, friends, school, or the media?

What does this exercise teach us?  If you don’t like the story you’re living, change the perception. Your life is a story with countless chapters.  Envision how you’d write the next chapter of your story. Focus your perception on creating a new reality, one where you are in charge of the story. It all begins with a decision.  Decide now to be in charge of your own perception and create the most incredible story you can imagine. 

-Every day do something that will inch you close to a better tomorrow-

Mike Sherbakov, CSCS, CPT

www.HMSfitness.com

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE HMS FITNESS NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE FREE MOTIVATING HEALTH AND FITNESS TIPS.

The Windows of Our Lives

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“Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you.” – Douglas Adams

Jim navigates through life wearing green-lens sunglasses, Jane with red-lens sunglasses.  At the end of each day, Jim tells his friends how “green” the world is.  Jane does the same for her friends, describing in great detail how “red” the world is.  Assuming they don’t realize their respective colored sunglasses are worn, which one of them is correct in their perspective of the world?

We all view life through a unique lens or “window” as I like to refer to it.  This window may be distorted any number of ways based on previous life experiences.  With no two windows being identical, looking through them provides us with our perspective of the world.  Our perception of any given object or situation we are confronted with becomes our reality. Perception is reality.   

Once we are able to accept the notion that two individuals can be looking at the same object and see it two very unique ways, we begin to understand the complexity of human interaction.  With each unique individual comes a unique reality.  Something you view as irrelevant or meaningless can have a world of meaning to someone else.  Learn to love and accept all beings no matter how different their perspective may be from yours.  Remember, it is their reality.  Be mindful of your words and actions for you never know what state of mind or reality another individual is experiencing.

Along with understanding the complexity of different realities, it is crucial to embrace the fact that everyone is fighting their own battle. Everyone has a story. Everyone has dealt with pain, happiness and love on very different levels.  It is these experiences that have shaped our individual windows

We have all been in a situation where we have hurt someone’s feelings.  Whether you intended the words or action to be hurtful or not is irrelevant.  If the individual on the receiving end explains that it made them feel a certain way (sad, angry, etc), you owe them an apology; feelings cannot be argued.  In these circumstances, be aware that the feelings are very real in the other’s reality.

So is Jim or Jane right?  Is the world green or red?  The answer is both.  In Jim’s reality, the world is green.  For Jane, the world is red.  Neither one is “wrong” unless they are judging the other for seeing the world a different way.  Awareness.  Be aware of others’ windows.  Be aware that there are countless perspectives of one object or situation.  Open your mind to these perspectives, open your heart to others’ realities and be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. 

-Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow-

Mike Sherbakov, CSCS, CPT

www.HMSfitness.com

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE HMS FITNESS NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE FREE MOTIVATING HEALTH AND FITNESS TIPS.