24: How Living in a Perception of a Projection Makes a Messy Life | #walkwithme
“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt About This Episode: Know anybody who no matter how much they do or give, they think it’s never enough? Or, how about somebody who constantly feels the world is out to get them?
“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
About This Episode:
In this episode of “#WalkWithMe” I explain how our personal perception is really just a projection of a projection, and how we can adjust it in order to stop chasing ‘supposed to’ and move towards our ‘meant to’ for a happier, more fulfilling life.
Know anybody who no matter how much they do or give, they think it’s never enough? Or, how about somebody who constantly feels the world is out to get them? Ever met a person who just seems happy and at peace all the time? I think I understand why these three types of people feel this way—it comes down to a personal perception. In fact, that perception is really a projection. And to go deeper on this, perception is a projection of a projection. I’ll explain what this means and why we might want to adjust our own perception and help others do the same.
Let’s talk about the first type of person. They are those who give it their all and achieve as much as they can, but they always feel they’ve got to do more, and so they’re hard on themselves.
Why? (I ask this question a lot.)
It comes down to them having a perception of a projection. But, it’s a perception of a reality that doesn’t exist. Most people don’t live in a projection of their own mind; they live in a projection of a projection that belongs to somebody else. For example, “I think they will think this of me.” This way of thinking causes problems because those perceptions are based on assumptions, many of which are not even accurate. They then alter their actions—what they do, what they say, who they are—based on what they think others will think.
If you saw my Ted Talk, you would know that I call this concept chasing your “supposed to.” We’re constantly trying to be and do based on what we think others think we’re supposed to do. “Supposed to” is a projection of a projection. And because we think others think that, we adjust our actions. The consequence: In constantly adjusting our actions based on somebody’s projection, we can never become who we truly are meant to be.
It works the same way with the other two types of people. People who live constantly in a state of negativity typically project onto others their own beliefs and perceptions. For example, if they think they’re always being judged, they’re usually the ones who judge others the most. When we view negativity or see flaws in others, we assume that others see that in ourselves.
The third type of person is rare…but amazing! They’re the people with high energy, constant positivity, full energy and who are lovers of life. Why? It’s the same concept. They’ve done the work on themselves to believe, trust and love. They know they’re not perfect and have flaws. They love people as they are because they know who they themselves are.
The way we can all get to that point is to become the best version of ourselves. And to do that, we need to 1) stop chasing ‘supposed to’, and 2) work on ourselves by loving all our strengths and being okay with our flaws.
Life is all about is removing the shell and becoming who you’re meant to be and letting go of projections that aren’t grounded in reality. Work on becoming the best version of yourself and you’ll begin to see the best version of others, and your life will be better for it.