DISCOVERING OUR REALITIES

Written by Deanna Ferris

“Reality is not what is “real,”

it’s what we think is real.”

It is mostly created in the

mind.

The tricky part: The same situation or

subject is viewed… … Still, every individual has

a different reality on that instance.

This can cause conflict deciding which one is true.

REALITY?

PERCEPTION

How the customer explained it

How the Project Leader understood

it

How the Analyst designed it

SORTING FILTERSPsychological

Condition

Physical Condition

Language

Formal Learning

Experiences

Expectations

•How we recognize incoming data because we are in the right state of mind•What data we recognize that influence senses, age, health, fatigue, hunger and biological cycles•Allows us to understand messages from the environment•How we view our environment; the obligation to teach people to be good citizens•First-hand informal learning activities; experiences that are layered on top of one another• “Self-fulfilling prophecies”

• Are influences by many things and can dictate how we act towards people, events and thing in our environment

A METHOD WE USE TO CREATE OUR

REALITIES

The perception process uses: Selecting Sorting & interpreting data

from External Environment There are three stages”

1. Select Data from Environment

2. Organize & Prioritize the Information & Data that we are Aware of

3. Interpreting the Data

Perception is an individual act!

HOW WE INTERPRET DATA

~Closure~

Your mind fills in the blank or

missing data & allows you to

understand and categorize what your

observing

~Selective Perception~

Narrow available cognitions to make

an interpretation of the environment

~Patterning~

Keeping new or current perceptions

in line with past ones

USING REALITY TESTING

This is a tool which is very useful when determining whether

the perception is a reality, rather than an interpretation of

events and things in one individuals environment

Problems occur when people act like interpretations are facts

A series of steps can guide us through narrowing and

eliminating the perceptional “gaps” between us and what seems

like a similar reality. These makes us believe these gaps are livable.

REALITY V. PERCEPTION

WHAT IS STASIS?

Also means “at rest”

We are impatient and

therefore create a reality we

are comfortable with.

This is known as the stasis

or the existing state of

things without modification.

Discovering the reality from what we believe is a valid reality of the environment, is difficult to do. Communicating with others to get a better understanding is a start of realizing the importance of various inputs. Each individual has their own perception, this is also what they want to see. Very few, if not any can have the same perceptions. We try so hard to keep them consistent which is motivation for our thoughts and actions.

“Disappointment is just the action of your brain readjusting itself to reality after discovering things are

not the way you thought they were” ~Brad Warner