Power of Perception… choosing change

Whilst on my personal development journey I’ve realised that how I see things is not necessarily the way things are. My experience may not be reflective of what occurred. Proof of this is that I can never really repeat things as they occurred verbatim, but I can recount what I think I heard and how I felt about something… how some words, attitudes, gestures and nuances made me feel. Also another persons account of the situation is likely to be completely different! This in itself is evidence that we view every event through our customised lens – the individual perspective.

No two people can walk away from the same situation with exactly the same version of an event, our viewpoint is determined by our past experiences, our social landscape and our general world view. Further our recall changes over time as each repetition heightens or diminishes different aspects owing to external ideas getting inserted or the evolution of our thoughts.

I’ve found that despite all the positive thinking literature and sayings I’ve ingested, at moments of weakness I’m a ‘glass half empty kinda gal’, a skeptic – borderline melancholic personality. So being told to look on the bright side of things feels patronising. We may not overtly choose negativity but it does have a kind of addictive energy that feeds itself… plus it is easier to be downtrodden than to break a cycle. It is our ego that believes there is only one way; the self righteousness is limiting. It controls us and keeps us in a box. Stagnating.

I’ve been trying to tease out my perspectives on things and turn them on their head… this has been an interesting introspective exercise which slowly and gently seems to be working for me. Often ending with an ‘Aha moment’. For example on a micro level instead of feeling stretched by commitments and the demands of family life, I now decide to be excited by the number of things I am needed for. The shift allows me to feel energised and grateful for the fullness of my current situation instead of being in overwhelm. On the flip side if I’m left out of something, I see it as the universe giving me time to recharge and to shift my focus internally. The subtle change in thought process creates a momentous energetic shift and only gets strengthened in time with practice.

Fundamentally we can choose to change our perception purely by recognising that there isn’t a single point of view and owning that our world view is potentially tainted. The very knowledge that we can control and change our thought process is empowering. We are autonomous and have the freedom to exercise choice even in the way we think.

It is not easy to choose change, but making that decision can colour our world in so many different ways. Sit with this… contemplation takes time before change can even begin to happen. Just allowing for choice and opening our hearts and minds to this possibility; that your view point is not the only one, can diffuse a charge and free up space is our noisy brain.

But how does one internalise a concept that is intellectual? The knowing that perception is in your control is exhilarating. And the knowledge that you can choose change is freeing. The hard part initially is owning and acknowledging your skewed perception and actively practising change – questioning it, breaking it down and turning it around. Allow for time to get the ‘reps’ in. Overtime you open your heart and mind to the possibility of different points of view – you learn new behaviour and your brain makes new connections. When you accept viewpoints of others from different walks of life, your mind begins to inhabit a global space which becomes the default and you move from a micro to macro way of thinking.

Acknowledgement, willingness to be open, contemplation, choosing change and allowing for time. This seems like a long list and process – but once you actively choose change the connections can happen so quickly. Taking the blinders off and shifting from single-mindedness opens doors and enables wholehearted living.  I believe we can finally take a step back and bring about a larger scope in our thoughts. I hope for it to become second nature for me…soon-ish!