PERCEPTION: Your perception is your reality. Change your perception, change your reality. Perception is your perspective, which is based upon your experience. The definition of perception, is as a result of observing, it is a physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience, while perspective is is a mental view or prospect. These definitions basically underline the way you view things, according to your past experiences. Your reality is comprised of a series of experiences that shape the way you see things.
YOUR EXPERIENCES: For most of my life, I considered myself to be very sensitive to other people’s feelings. What I realized in recovery, is that I usually project my own experiences onto other people and assume how they feel. For some reason, it was easier for me to assume their feelings instead of just asking them. Why do we do this? and why was I so adamant that I understood people? It was because I was using the thoughts and feelings of my own experiences, and applying it to them. What we forget is that everyone is different, we all think differently, experience things differently, have different experiences, feel differently, the list goes on.
We use our own perception to discern, which is backed by our own thoughts and feelings. This is why something I consider to be anxiety-provoking, could be absolutely mundane to someone else. Why? Because in my own experience, a similar situation made me feel anxious. Your experience could be completely different than another person’s experience.
REALITY: Your reality is made up of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The way that you see things is considered to be your truth, your perception, your personal experience. Your reality is only disrupted by factual evidence, for example you could experience a freezing cold winter day, but your reality is different from the reality of global warming. Your perception could be that winter nights keep getting colder, when the temperature of the Earth is actually steadily increasing. This doesn’t make your experience null and void, it just means that your perception dictates the way you see or don’t see the whole-hearted reality of things.
Your reality isn’t the reality. Your reality is subjective, meaning that it is relating to your personal perception. What you see a situation, person, place, or thing as, is not independent of your mind. Everything you perceive will play into your overall reality.
