You Do know Perceptions Are Unreliable!?

Think about it.

How many times has someone given you advice on something that's worked for them or something that they think is helpful but you have tried that and found it to be utterly unhelpful?

Does that mean that person was wrong? No, it means what works for you doesn't work for everybody else and vice versa. We forget to treat ourselves as individuals, and we assume what we know must be true.

Assumption is a dangerous place to be. Always thinking that we know what's going on in the world, and that our opinion is right, can make us arrogant. It can also make us judgmental, unadaptable. I'm not necessarily a particularly open person.

I challenge you this week to have a little look at something you strongly believe in, or even partially, believe in. For example, what is the correct way to make toast? I know you probably don't have a huge attachment to this, but by speaking to someone else about how they make toast or a sandwich or pour a cup of tea, you may find some strong opinions different than yours. I am British, and there is a great ongoing argument over milk first, or milk last. Is milk last is one way, the right way, or the wrong way, or is it just that it's different?

Have you ever been driving along the road at night and just as the sun was setting, you see something on the side of the road. You think oh my goodness, there's a person just standing randomly but as you get closer, you realize it's a post or a mailbox or something else altogether.

The reality is what we see, what we feel, is personal and it's based on what we have learned and what we already know.

Remember, just because you think something is true, doesn't mean it is.

Nicola Robertson

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist