How many times have you gotten upset about something only to find out later that what you thought they said or did, was not what you thought? Like, you had a perception of something, and it turned out to be completely wrong! And you did not do anything to check out your perception. In other words, you lived like what you thought they said or did was real.
Our minds play tricks on us. We hear something or see something and then we add whatever we see or hear to what we already know, to our memory and then draw a conclusion from the combination and think that we are related to reality. Often, we are not.
My husband and I went to Dealey Plaza in Dallas, to the book depository from which JFK was reportedly shot and assassinated. We saw the ‘grassy knoll’. I was very young when that happened, and I do remember it. I remember the tears and the funeral on our grainy black and white TV. And I remember the pictures of that grassy knoll- it was huge I thought. Then reality hit when we were there, the grassy knoll was a very small triangle of grass between the roads. Of course, then there are the as yet unproven theories of Oswald acting alone or the conspiracy that was behind JFK’s assassinations. I doubt we will ever know what is real, what is true. However, when you discuss this, people have firm opinions that occur for them as truths. They get emotional about their view.
Here is the most important thing I have ever learned: my opinion, my judgement, my assessment, my what I think is right is always and only related to my view. My view is determined by my past experiences, my memories and my emotions and… is not necessarily the right view, really. Other people’s views are as valid and real to them as mine is to me.
This is critical to remember. Not only for having a life where you can relate to others and not get into upsetting conflicts, but also for your business or career. When you have the view that “I can’t… (fill in the blank), you will be stopped. However, if you allowed yourself to imagine that “I can’t” is simply a view, you could create a new view. And the most amazing thing happens – when you create a new view, you have a new pathway and on that new pathway, are new actions. Then, before you know it, you take those new actions and you produce new results. That is awesome.
I hope that if you are reading this today, you take a moment and the things you think are impossible, consider that you simply have a ‘impossible’ view. I invite you to create a new view and see what you can do with that one! I would love to hear from you.