Thursday November 9, 2017 #922
“I’ve never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullsh*t.”
~Elizabeth Gilbert
We each work to find or create evidence of our perception of ourselves and the people and the world around us. Even if our perception is fundamentally wrong, we tend to only see what agrees with our delusions. Especially when our perceptions are negative it can be extremely difficult for anyone or anything to burst our perception bubble.
Real change, even transformational change, comes when we are somehow able to see through this façade. Only then can we really see the truth about others and especially ourselves. And only by seeing the truth can we then take steps to improve ourselves and help others.
The best way to try to stay honest with reality is to constantly learn, and not in the cocoon of similar believers. Interact with people who think differently than you. Travel to new places and embrace different cultures. Read broadly. Constantly ask, “Is my perception reality?”
The world has become more and more splintered between groups thoroughly convinced that their beliefs are the only correct ones, and anyone who believes differently is not only wrong, but demonized. The only way we can break this dangerous and destructive cycle is to start with the premise that “different” is not “evil”, just different. This is true or politics, culture, sports, and even religion.
Don’t get trapped into limiting beliefs. If that is where you find yourself, I hope you get “tired of your own bullsh*t”.