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Perception = Reality. Really?

Once you get a label in mind, you don’t notice things that don’t fit within the categories that do make a difference.  But we pay a price for these mental shortcuts.  “The baggage that comes with labeling is the notion of the blunders, really.  It prevents you from seeing what’s clearly before your face; all you’re seeing now is the label.”

An NBA player is labeled as a low draft pick.  Thanks to our diagnostic bias, it doesn’t matter whether he plays his heart out: he’ll always be viewed as subpar.  Once a professor is described as cold, his personality and teaching ability cease to matter: his students dislike him anyway.  The diagnosis bias causes us to distort or even ignore objective data.

Sway, The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

Several years ago, I was presented with the argument “perception equals reality”.  At the time, I had to agree – I could not see any way around it.  If people perceive you or something in a certain way, then there is perhaps little you can do to change that initial perception.  In most circumstances, I still believe that this is (unfortunately) true.

In my last post I introduced the concept of an advancement or development path.  I argue that if you can understand this concept and construct an advancement path focusing on your perception of the world, then you will start to question whether perception is reality and what aspects of your perception require alteration in order to see what truly is.

Here is an example of what such an advancement path could look like:

What happens if you are being perceived in a way that is not reflective of reality?  There are really two main options: (with varying degrees in between)

Option #1: Is there any truth in the perception?  If so, face the perception head on and outline what you will do to correct this initial perception.  Show the advancement pathway to highlight your understanding of the situation and use it as a vehicle for positive change.

Option #2: If there is no truth in the perception it’s probably best to figure out how to remove yourself from the situation.  This isn’t to say that expending some effort to correct this initial perception won’t add any benefit, but if the core perception is completely wrong, then it’s likely that it will remain in this state independent of your actions – no matter how admirable they may be.

One thing to be aware of is the downward spiral of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If the degree of the invalid perception is significant (i.e. you are classified as ‘A’ and you are really ‘Z’), then the sheer disconnect (left unchecked) could result in behavior that becomes aligned with the initial perception – and that’s exactly what you don’t want!

Understand the model.  Understand what is truly “real”.  Make adjustments for positive change or disconnect from the situation at hand.