What is Reality?
Andrea Bednar
Speaker, Author, Intervening in business as usual by developing extraordinary human leaders
Reality. What is it?
Let's start with a quote by Morgan Housel. "Your personal experiences make up about .00000001% of what's happened in the world but about 80% of how you think the world works."
Yes, we are that biased. All of us. We think our personal experiences are true and that they are the way the world IS.
We don't know what reality is.
We could say that reality is the story we tell ourselves about the way the world works.
But it isn't reality and it isn't THE truth.
But that fiction about reality is the primary reason we get upset (when we do).
When we get caught or stuck, or upset, what's happening is that our experience - our fiction about reality -- is not in sync with actual objective reality.
Every once in a while, this disconnect might lead to happiness or surprise. Unfortunately, most of the time, it leads to some kind of negative emotion.
Your assignment this week, should you choose to accept it, is to inquire into:
1. Am I operating from the facts right now, or a fiction I'm telling myself?
2. What impact do the facts have on my actions? What impact does my fiction have on my actions?
Take the case that you create fictions - stories that fit your beliefs about yourself, others, the way things are - rather than based on objectively observable events. If you're willing to consider that, observe the impact of your fictions on your actions.
Note: As I write this, I am sitting at an auto dealership getting my car fixed. I was not expecting to be sitting out here in the middle of the parking lot, next to the service road of a busy and noisy highway. I was expecting to be given a rental car to drive home. I was expecting the dealership to call to tell me when my car is done so I could pick it up later. That is not what's happening. My fiction was going to the dealership will go a certain way. Definitely not this way, however. I should not be sitting in the middle of a parking lot on a white plastic chair trying to work. My irritation wasn't from dealing with the objective reality, it was from dealing with the fiction I'd created based on past experiences. So, I am not happy. This does not match my pictures. I can see that when I look at the facts here, I'm not unhappy. I'm actually pleased with how well the whole event fit into the video I wanted to make for you today (which is just another fiction on my part - but one I like much better!).
How often does that happen to you?
Have an interesting inquiry this week. Let's hear from you in the comments.