Stop Taking It All So Personally

We can change our lives simply and for the better if we take in and act from this key concept:

There is nothing to take personally.

 What do we mean by this? Paradoxically, what we are pointing to is that what we each believe to be true, what we perceive, is always a prediction based on our past experience and is usually very, yes, personal.

 It used to be that people generally agreed that the world as we perceived it was based on sensory input. What we see/feel/hear/taste comes into the brain where it is taken in, synthesized and responded to. The belief is that we are all taking in the same inputs and synthesizing them in more or less the same manner. Turns out that that model is exactly wrong. What happens in fact (this has been proven through multiple research studies and FMRI’s of the brain) is that the brain predicts what it expects to experience and sees that. What we each think is “reality” then is, in fact, a truckload of assumptions. This is called Predictive Processing.

 Our brains are huge energy sucks, so evolutionarily it makes sense that we have learned to make assumptions or shortcuts. It also makes sense that we need to be able to quickly perceive a pattern (say big stripes on a large cat) and identify it as a threat.

Check this out:

 “Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.”

So, yes, ctas puls sripets = tgier

**This is why, by the way, when you are proofreading text, it is good to read from right to left so that you aren’t assigning meaning to the words.

Fine, you say but that doesn’t hold true for much else, does it?

In fact, it does….

Take a look at these images.

Very similar, right? Not so fast:

We see what we expect to see.

 Ok, fine you might be thinking…. but this is just in the visual realm. Nope. Here’s another example. Have you ever been walking downstairs and anticipating that each step would descend in a uniform fashion (based on your past experience of stairs) only to find that one is not? Or perhaps, you thought (because you were carrying something and couldn’t see the stairs) that you were at the bottom of the stairs when, in fact, you had one more to go? It’s jarring to say the least and sometimes dangerous.

 This predictive processing is in play all the time. Usually, it helps us conserve brain power and helps us make sense of what is an extremely complex world. Unfortunately, because most of us aren’t aware that our brains are always predicting, always already anticipating, we don’t see how deeply and importantly this impacts our worldview.

 Your past experience is different from mine. Imagine that you are going to a large gathering of people where you will be expected to interact. For some of us, this is a delightful prospect. For others, there might be just a little girding up necessary. We are each predicting and then acting from that prediction. Person A might walk in with a great big smile on her face and see groups of welcoming people just waiting to talk to her. Person B might walk in slowly, scan the room and see that everyone is already engaged in conversation. She might make a beeline for the bar.

How does predictive processing trip us up? First of all, unless and until we understand that we are all processing from different perspectives (which are “true” for each of us) then we will operate with a core level of misunderstanding about one another. Secondly, we will always be operating from a predictive position…. Never actually living in the fluid and undetermined present.

 Living in an undetermined present and understanding that you can operate from within this space means that you can choose to NOT live this way. What came before does not mean that you are doomed to act accordingly. What you see is not always what you get.

 This understanding gives you the freedom to transform.

 Transformation starts with understanding that this “predictive” modeling behavior leads to all of our interpretations. Further that these predictions and interpretations happen “unconsciously”. This is concerning – essentially we are making decisions and taking action from the unconscious – always. What if you could know exactly what the formula is that is driving and creating all of these unconscious decisions and actions? Essentially taking them from unconscious to conscious? As human beings we cannot not interpret. It is how our brain protects us – predicting a likely outcome. The gold is found in identifying your exact formula that creates these unconscious interpretations - understanding that they are not necessarily the “truth” and then being able to take action from a new and powerful place.

 It has been said “Don’t believe everything you think”

 In the Renascence Program you will come to know exactly what your  individual formula is  – the one that creates all of your interpretations. But we won’t leave you hanging with a “ok so what now” feeling. We also offer you  new tools to live your limitless life. Dropping the painful cycle of believing in one truth about yourself and others and into the possibility of making your impossible happen.

 And if that is compelling? Reach out to us at renascenceprogram@gmail.com. Our 3-day Renascence Program is all about giving you the tools to transform; to move from what you once thought “true” for you to a new perspective where anything is possible.