Life is a Perceptual Experience - You hold the key to unlock your potential 

by Yvonne F. Brown

Your mental programming, learned early in life, determines your mindset and your achievements.  

People often ask how I was able to have 10 careers and say "I wish I could do that."  Fact is, I was raised by my grandmother who told me "you can do anything you put your mind to" and I believed her.  Perception drives reality.

None of us views life, its events, conditions, or circumstances the same. We see life not as it is but as we are. Each of us has a mental perceptual filter through which we interpret events, circumstances and other people's behavior. Ten people can look at the same piece of art, auto accident, movie, sunset, or business opportunity and see it differently. This filter brings diversity to our lives and to our relationship with life's challenges.

One example I use in my seminars on communication is the idea of faults. Do you know of someone who has faults? Be honest now. Look closely at those faults for a moment. Aren't another person's faults what that person thinks, feels, believes or does differently than how you think they should feel, think, believe or act? 

The assumption you make when someone else has a fault, is that your way of feeling, acting, responding, etc. is either better than theirs, or the right way. Now isn't that just ridiculous? 

It usually gets a big chuckle during my Difficult People seminar when I mention that I have yet to have an attendee walk in and say "I am a difficult person, and I am here to learn how to change that." Someone else is always the difficult one who caused them to attend the program.

First of all, there is no right or wrong; there are only differences. The need to change the other person to your way of thinking because theirs is wrong, and yours is right, is one of the biggest issues that causes stress and conflict in personal relationships and interpersonal communication. 

Acceptance is one of the biggest hurdles people face in relationships and interpersonal communications. It is also a major issue when it comes to motivating ourselves on a consistent basis. 

If we fail to perceive life, its events, and people clearly, we tend to fall into a number of demotivating traps such as, guilt, blame, shame, resentment, anger and any number of other negative emotions. These negative responses color your response in tough situations, how you use your talent, and how you treat others or allow them to treat you on a regular basis.

One of the best indicators of someone who is happy, successful and living harmoniously with their world is how clearly in touch with reality they are, not their version of it, but true REALITY. 

Truth is indisputable. Our interpretation of it does not change anything, and yet many people believe that their truth should be everyone's truth.

At a recent conference I met a woman named Ping Fu. She is the Chairman, President and CEO of Geomagic, Inc., a company that attracted more than $8 million in capital from private and institutional investors. 

Her company increased its revenue by 381% in five years. But that is not what made her stand out in my mind. 

Her preception of events that happened to her, had a powerful impact on me. 

She came from the bleakness of totalitarianism to become an award winning entrepreneur. At age eight her parents were taken away and as she said, "the communists tried to crush my spirit, but I have a drive to be somebody." 

She was kicked out of China, yet whenever she found a door that was closed to her, a belief that "behind every door there's open spaces" helped her to press on.

When she arrived in the United States the only english words she knew were 'thank you, excuse me, and I'm sorry." She got her degree in Computer Science because (since computers speak in ones and zeros) that didn't need English and though there were persons trying to block her way, she focused on what she wanted to accomplish.

John Maxwell said, "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of, and response to failure." 

Where are your perceptions about life, people, events, circumstances, your past, present, or future clouded?  Where do you need a clearer vision and more accurate perceptual integrity?

Failure is fertilizer. 

There's a saying in Texas, "it doesn't matter how much milk you spill as long as you don't lose the cow." You've got to see the bigger picture! Ping not only survived, she thrived. 

Just remember that "a cumulative effort is what makes tomorrow better than today." 

The biggest door is in your own mind and your perceptions of your life experiences. Be your biggest advocate, break through perceptions, start every day with a good attitude, and open the door yourself.

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