Have you noticed that each of us can perceive the same event differently? Why does one person worry more about a situation while another sees it in a completely different way? The reason lies in different perception filters. Reality – that is, a fact or certain event – is inherently neutral. What shapes it, changes its tone, color, or form, is ourselves. What are perception filters? They are ways of interpreting events and situations according to the „programming of our minds.” This means that the data we draw from past experiences, in a habitual and automatic way, different for each person, „filters” perceived reality.

So, one event, like a car theft, as humorously shown in the picture, is perceived differently by everyone… 😊 In practice, it looks like this: you unconsciously give a situation, someone’s words, gestures, or actions a meaning that they do not have, and then you react, not to the stimulus itself, but to the meaning you have given it.

Does the fact that we realize this have significant implications for us, and can we find practical applications for this knowledge? Absolutely. It can help you both in relationships with others and in reassessing your goals, self-perception, self-worth, and independence. The source of distortions, that is, habitual interpretations and filters, are data from the past that are no longer relevant in the present moment. If you perceive every current situation through the filter of past events, you unconsciously replay the past over and over, even though the present moment offers you the possibility to step completely out of past patterns.

This is the key to freedom from influences in favor of conscious living. Because it is the meaning you give to the situation that determines what you get back from it, not the situation itself.

To better understand this, let me share a story for each of you to reflect on:

A little boy loved going to the circus and watching the various acts performed by the animals. He was always most delighted by the elephant performances. These large, majestic animals were symbols of power and strength for him.

One day, as he was leaving the circus after a performance, he noticed that this great elephant was tied with a rope to a small stake in the ground. How is it possible, he thought, that the elephant does not break free and run away to freedom.

At the exit, he asked a ticket seller who had been working at the circus for many years.
You see, boy – the ticket seller replied – ever since the elephant was very young, it has been tied to this stake with a thick rope. The stake seemed large, and the rope was heavy. Despite many attempts, it never managed to break free. It learned that despite efforts and struggles, this limitation would always defeat it. After a while, it gave up and does not realize that today it could easily break free – that’s why it stays in place.

 

So let’s change our perception filter – let’s be free!!!

Author: Beata Molska Business Psychologist, coach