A TRUTH Perception, a tricky thing

A truth is seen by one person as factual, verifiable. The funny part of it is that it will vary from one individual’s perception to the next. Your perception is the way you receive and process a fact and what it means to you. It will be influenced by your values, previous experiences, your background, culture and environment.

This is why you can usually operate a perception shift by changing the vision you have of a fact, a situation or an event. Fortunately, it can have a positive effect on the person living or observing an event. Your point of view may, therefore, differ, when a perception shift has taken place.

Hence, a skier breaking his leg at the beginning of the season may see it as incredibly bad luck at first. In retrospect, having been rescued from the cold and brought to safety by an attractive patrol who later becomes an attentive, long term mate, the incident may seem like the luckiest day ever.

The same will be valid for the employee being hired by a more promising company at a higher salary after being laid off by one closing down.

Truths change, or rather, shift, according to circumstances and perception.

What is even more unnerving is that this change may well move back and forth a number of times, sometimes managing to completely confuse you as to the veracity of its core.

It then may become half-truths. Drawing the line becomes somewhat impossible as the crisscrossing has blurred your thoughts so much that your objectivity is now lacking its usual sharp assessment skill, its usual firmness. It may even make you doubt that you can nail it anymore. The debilitating effect of these half truths will sometimes render you helpless at discerning exactly where you stand.

Then, what some of us do is settle, settle for the least obstructive, least disturbing position. Sometimes, we settle so well that we lose ourselves in the process.

Others, liking the challenge, will take the time to look at various perspectives, research the credibility of all information pertaining to the situation, to then take position in an assertive manner. These will have developed the tools, critical judgment skills and strategies to validate their position, especially in the presence of controversial issues.

Regardless, before you get entangled into confusing shifts, look at your truth of the situation or event. Then take the time to situate clearly why your perception is what it is. Your intuition and your fundamental values will have their say.

Later, even if other elements come into the picture, you’ll still be able to know the reasons why you took that stand. More so valuable, you’ll be able to discern when and why the shift took place, avoiding confusion, avoiding unsettling feelings that can hamper your self-confidence.

It is important to see this unmistakably because it will define subsequent choices and actions. When we remember clearly, we learn more from our experiences and can better validate our decisions and position ourselves firmly. In a way, it contributes to accurate self-awareness on an ongoing basis.

So do take the time to reflect on your truths and discern the reasons for your position while also considering others’ truths and their reasons as well! A balanced, decisive, open-mind contributes to an ongoing well being!
Elizabeth McNally
Mentor & Licensed Certified EI Coach
http://guidancequest.com
info@guidancequest.com