What is the True Difference Between Perception and Reality?

by Lorelei F.

You walk into the room at a party and see a handsome man. He has on black jeans and a sexy black shirt. You are attracted to his chic sensuality. You are about to walk over to him when he turns his head and glares at you with a look of disdain. The look is clear. It says, 'Stay away, I'm not interested.'

If you are like most people you will slink away to the buffet- ego deflated. You may begin to wonder if it is the dress you wore, or the cologne he smelled from across the room. Perhaps you will consider throwing that stuff away. Perhaps you will think, I'm just not my most attractive today. Then you will avoid men for the evening, and when it is over, follow your lonely course home.

Now suppose you are on the other side and you are the male. Here's what may be happening for you. You have just taken a sip of your cocktail, and it is sour as a green lemon. You purse your lips to try to keep from spitting it out. You are noticing nothing but the bad taste in your mouth- and you are thinking of how to get rid of it without drawing attention.

His look of disdain was actually a reaction to his drink. He never even saw you until later, when he meandered over to the buffet and saw this vision in white. She was lovely, but she had an aloof look on her face. It was an above-it-all look. Still she was very appealing, in an odd sort of way. But he decided he was not up for the certain rejection, and walked away.

Now if we look, both of these people in this story are 100% sure that they know 'reality.' They are sure that they know the very thoughts in each others heads. And that is the difference between perception and reality. And because of their beliefs, which they take as real, these two potential soul mates never even meet.

And I would venture to say that this is how most of us do life. We go on our merry way, doing and not doing, based on what we think. And what we think is hugely colored by our judgments and assessment, beliefs and past. But we don't think it is colored. We think we are seeing the world how it really is.

Can you imagine how many opportunities we miss that we don't even know about?

In this and future articles we will look at the difference between perception and reality. We will look to see how setting aside limiting beliefs and assumptions can give us miracles in our lives- miracles in romance, career, finances, life-fulfillment, and every other are of life. So stick around, and enjoy the ride.

About the Author:

For more about thoughts, preconceived ideas and reality be sure to check out the blogs of renowned author, speaker, and activist Lorelei F at differencebetweenperceptionandreality and also at howtomanifestanythingyouwant.