Change Your Point of View

"Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars."- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts 

We tend to see life from the 'default' perspective, one defined by our experience of life, beliefs adopted along the way, and our needs at any point in time.

Is this perspective accurate? Do not each of these aspects distort our perception? Do we see life as it really is, or through the filter of our own reality model? I am convinced it is the latter. Shakespeare said that nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so - our world is modified by our interpretation of events.  

Our internal map of reality cannot possibly have a one-to-one correspondence with the real world. It lacks the detail, the texture, the richness of the experience; it's like a shadow - we know it represents the reality, but we also know the reality is something far more complex.

Seen from the perspective of the owner, a business going bankrupt may be called a 'disaster'. His competitors would call it an 'opportunity', his bank manager would call it a 'risk' and his lawyers would see it as 'work'. Taking a different view of an event or issue often changes it sufficiently to alter the way we feel about it. 

The same applies to the internal discussions we have with ourselves - those never-ending arguments in which there never appears to be a winner, and we put the discussion away for another day, or those constant self-criticisms and doubts that stop us from making the best of our lives. Self-doubt, contrary to some of the prevailing wisdom on the subject, may be a good thing, since it may be rooted in a genuine inadequacy which we will need to correct if we are to achieve our dreams. On the other hand, self-doubt which has no grounds in reality is really a phobia, and is self-limiting. Removing the first kind may be as simple as taking the requisite actions to remedy the fault; the second kind needs a change in our internal reality model, the redefinition of our Self.

Our character is defined by what we believe to be true. There is no 'real' self, and no way of determining who we 'really' are. We are who we believe ourselves to be, and so the only person who can really define your Self is yourself. Don't let others attempt to define you - that way, you're always living up to the expectations of others.

Often, we allow other's opinions and the current 'way we are' to distract us from the pursuit of the 'new, improved' model, defined by our potential rather than our existing self. 

It's important to recognise that we are always a 'work in progress' and only we know how it's progressing and what the destination looks like.

There are inevitably disappointments along the way, when obstacles present themselves, or we falter in our quest; no matter - if it was easy to do, everybody could do it. Great ventures require great efforts, and in many cases it may mean getting up off the floor for the umpteenth time and starting again. This in itself is character-building. But we need to see beyond the 'now'.

It's about looking at a caterpillar and seeing a butterfly - potential always looks better than the current reality, and being a 'realist' is often about seeing only the current reality...

Change is by definition 'unreal' since it does not exist in it's changed state when the change starts. 

Let's be unrealistic!

D (just call me D)

justd@justd.ws

© Uncommon Sense Communication - Enabling Independent Thought