Does it sometimes seem like other people just don't get it? Their view of life is so completely different from yours that you figure they must be nuts. Or perhaps you are. The thing is, we all have our own unique version of what we see in the world, based on what we focus on. A person cannot focus on everything at any point in time, and so the information is filtered down. At any moment you are bombarded with information via all of your senses – feelings, sights, smells, sounds, tastes. In fact, 2 million bits of information are coming at you at any single moment. Imagine if you had to be aware of all it, for example, if you had to consciously think about moving your eyeballs to scan this page, or that you couldn’t block out your peripheral vision while you read this particular sentence. Are you conscious of the pressure on your backside as you are sitting there? You would go insane if you had to think about every single piece of input. In fact, some people do when they are not able to block out the masses of data. The big question IS, what are YOU paying attention to and what are you blocking out? Your experience at any moment is always a reflection of what you are looking or sorting for.
The body/mind has a set of filters that determine what we pay attention to at any point in time so that we are only
aware of 134 bits of information. That is a huge huge difference – 2 MILLION bits filtered down to just 134
bits. (Source: ‘Flow’ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) This explains why two people can have totally different opinion or view about a person, a situation or event. Some people tend to see the negative side of things while other's will always see the positive. Perhaps you know someone who is completely ignorant of dust or mess because they just don't see it. Accidents often happen because of what we don't see or are not paying attention to. Think of the filters of your mind like a web search engine, where what you decide to search for determines the experience you have while on the internet. I was chatting with someone who travels frequently and he was telling me about his trip to New York, and immediately commented on how dirty the streets were, and a few other negative aspects. I had to ask him, so, what DID you like about New York? What you perceive of your experience is a projection of what you are looking for. If you are getting angry or upset over something, it is a reflection of you and what you are deciding about a situation. As an educator and presenter, I speak to various audiences, and the feedback I receive is as much a reflection of the person giving the feedback and what they focused on, as it is of me. I will always consider this fact when I decide how to respond to feedback. When you are open to seeing life from different viewpoints then you put yourself in the best position to learn. Take control of what you are paying attention to start creating better results for your life. Your reality is up to you and what you choose to look for.
by Annette Lynch - 27 Oct2011 About the author: Annette Lynch (formerly Huygens-Tholen) is a Success coach, NLP Practitioner, Author and Speaker/Educator
helping individuals to change their lives through strengthening Personal Leadership. Achieving a dream to be
an Olympian in 2000, Annette then learnt to overcome her greatest challenge - life after sport. By
studying and applying the mindset skills and attitudes of sport into the game of life, Annette has transformed not
only her life, but thousands of others in UK, USA, Aus and NZ through coaching and
training. PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You are welcome to use this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered,including the "about the author" info. Please send a copy of your reprint to info@annetteffect.com.au
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