There is what you see. And there is reality. Do not mix the two, yet.
Many years ago, I happen to stop by a tea shop - a small enclosure made of rusted steel, under a tree, on my way to work. The tree and the knee level fence made of concrete around its trunk, with enough width for people to sit on, was an undeserved advantage for that tea business. The tree, its set up and the prospect of a hot tea was an attractive proposition for most of the passers-by. I was one those who found myself welcomed by hot tea under cool tree shade! There were at-least 10 people who were hovering around the tea shop already.
As much welcoming the tea shop set-up was, the tea-master was the opposite. With a grumpy face, and an adamant refusal to move his butt from the stool he was seated, he would respond to orders shot at him for chai, toffies or cigarettes much slower than a snail by simply stretching his hand. Customers had to compensate by pushing themselves into the shop to reach his hand! He never made eye contact with any of the customers, smile and courtesy is out of expectation.
He was haughty and lousy! And that would have been my last visit to that shop. I was beginning to decide.
But in that moment I saw him move out of the tea shop. He moved out with the help of crutches. He was lame!
I changed my mind. I signed up to be a regular visitor.
In my eyes, he is now a master, not just a tea-master. In that
moment, I realized it was not him who had to get his acts right,
but I who had to alter my perception. And I did.
The point is that each of us have the capacity to alter our perceptions. In this case, it was the new information about the tea-master that enabled that alteration.
But it is also possible to alter or choose our seeing without any external information or stimulation. And in that seeing we become powerful influencers. It's called the Pygmalion effect or Rosenthal effect. The theory in brief simply says people, things, and situations show up the way we see them.
According to Stephen R Covey it is the Paradigms that we hold that determines how we approach situations. He elaborates much on this in his seminal work (and best seller) - The seven habits of highly effective people.
How are things? Our relationships? Our work? Life? And how about our current situation? In whichever state they are, it is time for us to extend our responsibility and declare that we have had significant role in that. In our seeing. Everything tends to alter if we alter our seeing.
Well, we are much more powerful than we think. Let's embrace that power.
Do we fail to embrace that power, because we think with more power comes more responsibility?
The point is that each of us have the capacity to alter our perceptions. In this case, it was the new information about the tea-master that enabled that alteration.
But it is also possible to alter or choose our seeing without any external information or stimulation. And in that seeing we become powerful influencers. It's called the Pygmalion effect or Rosenthal effect. The theory in brief simply says people, things, and situations show up the way we see them.
According to Stephen R Covey it is the Paradigms that we hold that determines how we approach situations. He elaborates much on this in his seminal work (and best seller) - The seven habits of highly effective people.
How are things? Our relationships? Our work? Life? And how about our current situation? In whichever state they are, it is time for us to extend our responsibility and declare that we have had significant role in that. In our seeing. Everything tends to alter if we alter our seeing.
Well, we are much more powerful than we think. Let's embrace that power.
Do we fail to embrace that power, because we think with more power comes more responsibility?
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