Limited Perceptions

Each of us tends to think we see things as they are. But this is not the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are- or as we are conditioned to see it. When we open our mouths to describe what we see, we, in effect, describe ourselves, our perceptions, and our paradigms.

Consider this incident:

Once, two friends were heading towards the subway station after a delightful dinner. As they turned the corner, they met a homeless woman seated on several unfolded boxes. When the two friends approached, she asked them to spare some change. She was hungry, and anything would do. Both turned to each other. Looking down, one friend handed the woman a box of untouched dessert from the restaurant. The other smiled. As they walked away, delighted in their act of kindness, they heard a sudden cry. “I don’t want cheesecake!” she exclaimed. She ran towards them and handed them back the box. “Wait, what just happened?” said one friend to the other. How could she afford to be so picky! They avowed instantly never to help another homeless person again.

A few weeks passed when one of the friends found himself turning the same corner. And there she was again! Overcome with anger, he quickened his pace. As he walked past her, though, he heard her explaining to someone, “Praise the Lord. It’s not enough that I’m begging the streets- I’m also blessed with severe diabetes!”

Our Limited Experiences

We often define growth as a bank of our accumulated experiences. But is it possible that our growth can also be inhibited by the very experiences that mold and define our opinions and beliefs? If the friend had not turned the same corner at that very instant, how would he have carried that experience with him?

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey shares an exercise he encountered at Harvard Business School: A class of students was handed a stack of cards to examine for ten seconds. After the time was up, he observed one-half of the class vehemently argue that they saw a young, fashionable woman in the silhouette. The other fervently insisted it was a silhouette of an older woman with a noticeably large nose. As Covey describes, the exercise eloquently demonstrated that two people could see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It’s not logical; it’s psychological.

The way we see the world is defined by our unique lenses. These lenses color, modify, and filter the world, forming our expectations and beliefs. But, our ability to understand the world through knowledge and experience is shaped by the reality around us. How so? As described by Covey’s Harvard exercise, our perception of our surroundings is, rudimentarily limited by two key things: physical senses and human error. And it’s these limitations that feed our inhibitions.

Limitations of Our Physical Senses

Let’s examine our physical senses. What we perceive is never absolute. Our physical senses betray us all the time because they’re imperfect. It is true that while the human senses are powerful, they’re just not powerful enough. There is much we can’t see or hear!

Even to obtain accurate information about the external world, our senses have physiological limits or ‘thresholds of perception.’ For example, a human eye cannot see through walls; it is blind to x-rays, ultraviolet rays, and infra-red. We can only see a tiny fraction of the total electromagnetic spectrum. The same applies to our other senses as well! But it isn’t enough to say that scientific discovery will solve this limited perception formed by our senses. Nobel prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner points out, “Even if we photograph the stars, we must eventually ‘take in’ by our senses what the photograph shows. All knowledge is ultimately processed through our limited senses.”

Taking what we see and hear at face value provides minimal knowledge. It also provides a very narrow understanding of a situation. To gain perspective, we must delve deeper!

Human Error and the ‘Aha!’ Moment

The second limitation can be described by the “Aha!” experience that Steven Covey reveals when the student finally “sees” the image in the experiment described by the other side. It’s a powerful moment when one’s inner paradigm shifts. Thomas Kuhn introduced this concept of the paradigm shift in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn shows how almost every significant breakthrough in the scientific endeavor is first a break with tradition, old ways of thinking, and old paradigms.

For example, there was a time when Aristotle claimed the Earth was stationary, while the center of the universe and the sun revolved around Earth. It passed unquestioned until Copernicus, and then Galileo focused his telescope towards the skies to prove otherwise. The list of our past mistakes or initial paradigms is quite telling. Behind these mistakes was a lack of experience and knowledge. But as new frontiers of knowledge are explored, man is forced to change his old views.

As evident, we’re sometimes limited by the very knowledge we possess. Held up by our egos or complacency, we close our minds to anything that challenges what we already know and believe. Just think how difficult it is for us to accept new information or lose an argument.

Tapping into Our Greatest Potential

These limitations are tremendous! Just consider how much of our perceptions are impacted by these very limitations! So, what are ways we can break free from our limited bandwidths, expand our outlooks, and grow to reach our greatest potential?

Expand the Knowledge Base

Tim Ferriss, entrepreneur, author, and investor, is the host of the largely followed podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The podcast covers topics ranging from personal development techniques to morning routines and meditation habits of celebrities, CEOs, and athletes. Tim unfailingly asks each guest for book recommendations or specifically which books the guests would gift to others. Listen to these podcasts, and it’ll become evident that most successful individuals are voracious readers- they see the value of expanding the breadth of their knowledge through the study of different topics.

Picking up a book is not a novel idea. But we often forget a significant benefit that reading reaps: it challenges our experiences, opinions, and thoughts. It widens our perspective to question differently, think differently, and behave differently. Start with one book and see how it challenges you. If you struggle sitting with a book, begin by reading an article, listening to a lecture, tuning into an audiobook or a podcast. To avoid becoming passive in the task, try jotting down key points that you find worth remembering and reflecting on. After such a study, sincerely consider if and how these takeaways can be incorporated into your day-to-day life.

Take the Time to Listen

Active listening can be a great way to widen our lenses! So how can we cultivate this virtue of mindful listening?

Find an opportunity to talk to others and take the time to listen to their experiences and perspectives. Try asking at least one open-ended question in a conversation. Or the next time someone disagrees with you, instead of arguing to defend your opinion, ask them to expand and elaborate on theirs. How is their outlook different from your own? In which aspects are they different? Take the time to understand what shaped their viewpoints to hold the values they do.

Shift the Vantage Point

Take an encounter you had and think about it from another vantage point. Try to understand what a particular situation is teaching you.

I recently read an article about someone who became furious with cyclists when dodging them on his morning runs. He writes:

“Wanting to understand, last Saturday I borrowed a friend’s bicycle, strapped on my cycling shoes, and clipped into the pedals. I entered the park on West 77th Street, where a steep ramp descends into the 6-mile loop. I quickly accelerated down and had to merge onto a roadway packed with runners and pedestrians who weren’t paying attention to me. As my bicycle picked up speed and I tried to enter the loop, I realized I was in danger — and so were the runners in my path. That’s when I shouted, “HEADS UP!” I had been bicycling in the park for only a matter of seconds, and I was already yelling at runners and pedestrians. My perspective shift was immediate. But I didn’t feel angry — I felt scared.”

How often do we find ourselves in conflict because we cannot see an issue from the counterpart’s frame of mind? How often do we find ourselves overcome with anger when our habits, lifestyle, and character are challenged?

Examine and Act

Inspired by His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, India, features in its Halls of Values, a ‘Man and Chisel’ sculpture offering the profound notion: “Man is the maker of his happiness.” It highlights the quintessential concept of self-improvement through self-perseverance. Both the sculpture and its message serve as a constant reminder to visitors that individuals have the capacity to continually mold themselves into the person they want to be.

There is no golden moment for change, no prerequisites. We only need a desire to begin! In most circumstances, we already possess or have the ability to seek out the tools we require to overcome- to improve and progress.

As we’ve seen, the more aware we are of our basic paradigms, the more we can take responsibility for them: examining them and testing them against reality. Taking the time to question and examine one’s thoughts and actions is a form of self-reflection. Striving towards change as a result of such contemplation is purposeful growth.

To carve significant changes into our lives, we must understand and distance ourselves from the breadth of our limitations. Practice this daily to tap into your greatest potential!

Bhavisha Doshi, New Jersey
Civil Engineer