Here’s something to think about. If you were to look up “hear” or “see” in the dictionary, what do you think you would find? In the definition for both of these words, is the word “perceive.” Two people looking in the same direction, are not going to see the same thing. Two people listening to the same conversation are not going to hear the same thing. Here are the actual definitions:
To See
“perceive with the eyes; discern visually”
To Hear
“perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something)”
This means that it’s completely up to you how you perceive and interact with your environment. There have been times in my life, that I have convinced myself so thoroughly of a reaction or response that I didn’t even try. The situations you encounter, and the people you meet can surprise you every day, and you need to be open to that possibility. Just today, I was riding on the bus with a friend towards my actor’s goal setting group, and I saw a very well dressed man standing on the bus holding a book. Then man was nicely groomed and wore a nice coat, a collared shirt, and carried an expensive looking bag. Based on what he looked like, I assumed the book he was carrying was some sort of high fiction. The book had been stripped of it’s cover, so it was just a bare green spine. He stepped closer in my direction and I got a glimpse at the title. It said “Mockingjay” – he was reading one of the books in the hunger games trilogy. Be open to the idea that you can’t predict anything, and get excited about this fact.
Never assume that you know what other people are thinking. If, however, you feel yourself inclined to predict the thoughts of others – do so in a favorable way. Believing that others are looking at you in a negative way can not help you, so why torture yourself? You teach others how to treat you, so teach them to treat you with respect by believing that you deserve to be treated with respect and never entertaining any other option.
This is something that I have been really working on lately. When I’ve made a mistake, in the past I have put myself down and imagined negativity or contempt coming from those around me. I have changed this thinking, and the change has transformed the way in which I interact with others and the world. Now when I make a mistake I imagine forgiveness and acceptance exuding from those around me, and a sense of encouragement to get back up and try again.
This is your reality, and although you can’t control the way those around you act, (where appropriate) what’s stopping you from making up or imagining the way the people around you think.
In what way could you apply this thinking to your own life?