Transcript:
Hi there. My name is Jeff Arthur with The Values Conversation here to talk about how our perception defines our reality.
It’s always interesting to me how we understand this, and I guarantee you that I’m only the 500 millionth person that you’ve heard some ways say our perception defines our reality, but we forget that. Our perception defines our reality, how we think, what we see, what we understand about ourselves and other people. It’s amazing how we make assumptions about ourselves, about the other person, about what’s going on in their life, and what’s taking place.
I often tell the story about how I understood Stephen Covey tell a story. It was in first person, so I assume it was real about him personally, about how he was on a subway car and there was a man’s children running crazy all over the car, making everybody upset and whatever. The kids, they were small. They were rowdy. The man was doing nothing until Covey, again if it was really him in first person, went up to the gentlemen and said, “Hey, just want to let you know your kids are kind of crazy. Can you settle them down?”
The man seemed to come back to reality and looked at him and said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize. Just came from the hospital. My wife just died, and I wasn’t really paying attention. I don’t know how to tell them their mother’s gone.” Everybody’s perception on that subway car instantly changed.
Our perception defines reality, but those perceptions are based on assumptions. Don’t just jump to assumptions. Don’t jump to conclusions. Realize a much bigger picture.
My name is Jeff Arthur with The Values Conversation. You can find out more about us online at TVCLeadership.com.