Karen R. Power - Web Developer, Virtual Assistant, Speaker Coach, Writer

It's All a Matter of Perception

“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”
Proverbs 23:7

I have realized the validity of the expression, "a person's perception is truth to them, whether it is truth or not" in the conversations I have had during the past few weeks. During these conversations, people have expressed their perception and understanding of different situations and have come to a completely different "truth" than the other party involved. In some of these situations, both parties were correct, however, due to limited information or filtering through their past unhealed hurts, unresolved issues and unmet needs, their perception was skewed. The result being that the perceived truth was not truth at all. The only way to reconciliation of these opposing viewpoints would be making a choice to change their perspective.

Often a change in our perception brings about a change in our beliefs and what we think is reality or truth. Taking the time to see things from another angle can mean the difference in being stumped by a situation or being a part of the solution. How many times have you worked on something and reached a dead end, only to walk away, get a breath of fresh air and return to find the answer in a matter of minutes? On the other hand, when you heard both sides of the story, the conclusion you previously would have fought for suddenly seemed ridiculous.

How do we get ourselves into such a state of skewed perception? Research has shown that two people can go through the same exact experience and come out very different. One can be bitter and the other barely affected by the situation. While the first person holds on to all of the negative from their past and tries to apply it to the present, the second person has learned to let the past stay there. Did the negative past happen to them? Yes, however, the second person chose to let the past events remain in the past and to not impose their expectations, needs or emotions on the present situation. They simply chose to change their perception. The facts of their past experiences did not change but how they chose to view the present was not influenced or filtered through those experiences. If we choose to change our perception and are willing to expand our limited understanding, amazingly our relationships will be better and those seemingly impassible situations are possible to resolve.

I am reminded of a story of a man with an elephant, binoculars and tweezers. His task was to pick up the elephant using only the tweezers. You may say that is impossible. Depends on how you look at the situation. When using the binoculars in the usual manner, the elephant only appeared larger than ever. When he changed the way he had always done it and turned the binoculars around, the huge animal appeared small enough to pick up with the tweezers. The impossible seemed feasible.

Take a few minutes and think about the situations you are facing that are stuck or the relationships that are in a state of what seems to be disrepair. Ask yourself how much of your past baggage you have brought into it. Then choose to view it from another angle and expand your understanding from the other point of view. The results will amaze you.

© 2008 - Karen R. Power. All rights reserved.

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It's All a Matter of Perception “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he...” Proverbs 23:7 I have realized the validity of the expression, "a person's perception is truth to them, whether it is truth or not" in the conversations I have had during the past few weeks. During these conversations, people have expressed their perception and understanding of different situations and have come to a completely different "truth" than the other party involved. In some of these situations, both parties were correct, however, due to limited information or filtering through their past unhealed hurts, unresolved issues and unmet needs, their perception was skewed. The result being that the perceived truth was not truth at all. The only way to reconciliation of these opposing viewpoints would be making a choice to change their perspective. Often a change in our perception brings about a change in our beliefs and what we think is reality or truth. Taking the time to see things from another angle can mean the difference in being stumped by a situation or being a part of the solution. How many times have you worked on something and reached a dead end, only to walk away, get a breath of fresh air and return to find the answer in a matter of minutes? On the other hand, when you heard both sides of the story, the conclusion you previously would have fought for suddenly seemed ridiculous. How do we get ourselves into such a state of skewed perception? Research has shown that two people can go through the same exact experience and come out very different. One can be bitter and the other barely affected by the situation. While the first person holds on to all of the negative from their past and tries to apply it to the present, the second person has learned to let the past stay there. Did the negative past happen to them? Yes, however, the second person chose to let the past events remain in the past and to not impose their expectations, needs or emotions on the present situation. They simply chose to change their perception. The facts of their past experiences did not change but how they chose to view the present was not influenced or filtered through those experiences. If we choose to change our perception and are willing to expand our limited understanding, amazingly our relationships will be better and those seemingly impassible situations are possible to resolve. I am reminded of a story of a man with an elephant, binoculars and tweezers. His task was to pick up the elephant using only the tweezers. You may say that is impossible. Depends on how you look at the situation. When using the binoculars in the usual manner, the elephant only appeared larger than ever. When he changed the way he had always done it and turned the binoculars around, the huge animal appeared small enough to pick up with the tweezers. The impossible seemed feasible. Take a few minutes and think about the situations you are facing that are stuck or the relationships that are in a state of what seems to be disrepair. Ask yourself how much of your past baggage you have brought into it. Then choose to view it from another angle and expand your understanding from the other point of view. The results will amaze you. © 2008 - Karen R. Power. All rights reserved. Send your comments about this article Return to Writing Return to TOP You may reprint or repost this article providing that the following conditions are met: - The article remains essentially unaltered. - Karen R. Power is shown as the author. - The notice Copyright 2008 by Karen R. Power appears on the article. - Contact information for Karen is included with the article. You may refer readers to this Web site as a way to meet this requirement. Please link to http://www.karenpower.com/ Here is the wording we suggest when linking to this site. "The article you've just read can be found on Karen Power's web site along with many other articles and resources."