Recently, I was reading Book 3 of an excellent series called My Struggle, by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Although the series focuses on the events of every day life, it offers many opportunities for self reflection.
Early on in the book, Karl Ove brings up the concept of self-perception, which got me to thinking about it in my own life — professionally and personally.
- How do I perceive myself as a dad, a husband, a writer?
- How do I perceive myself as a business owner?
- How do others perceive my business and the services we offer?
- And maybe most importantly … how do I perceive the world?
Perception is not only how I describe these things in words, but also how I feel about something. Which makes my perceptions very powerful, as they will ultimately create my reality.
It was Muhammad Ali that once said, “what you are thinking is what you’re becoming.” On the same note, Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
I bring this up because no matter where we’re at in our lives, we’re probably busy and running around trying to keep up. But sometimes it’s important to stop, and ask ourselves the questions listed above.
Otherwise, our tomorrow will look just like our yesterday.
This is fine if our goals match up with our perceptions. But if we’re not examining our perceptions of the world, and our place in it, how do we know for sure where we stand? And how can we expect things to change if we’re not aware of what needs changing?
