Perception Trumps Reality

We all come from different backgrounds, with different life experiences, therefor we look at things differently. Sometimes looking at things from one angle or perspective distorts the truth. For example, if we are sitting across from each other at a table and I draw a huge 6 in the middle of the table from your angle it looks like a 9. If we are to grow as individuals and as a society, we must learn to communicate our prospective on issues and articulate to others why we believe what we believe. More importantly we must listen to the other’s perspectives and truly seek to understand where they are coming from and why they believe what they believe. The most important thing is for all parties to separate facts from opinions.  A true leader will be able to listen to the input from all of the other parties before forming their opinion (This still may differ from another person’s opinion). In this way they can seek to completely understand everybody’s prospective and attempt to establish facts from opinions before sharing their opinion to the group.

What we are seeing more of today is a I’m right and you are wrong attitude that turns into name calling and group labeling that accomplishes nothing. Someone once asked me if I would jump out of an airplane without a parachute for $100,000. I said no. They then said I did not get all of the facts. They then told me the plane was on the ground and the large inflatable slide had been deployed. I made the wrong decision because I did not have all of the facts. I would jump under those conditions. Too many times we voice our opinion based on bits of information that are bias or misleading without getting all of the facts. I for one will admit I have fallen into this trap. Let us all take a breath and have a open discussion without the name calling and phobic labeling and have an open discussion and still be friends realizing we all come from different back grounds and have had different experiences. We have a lot of problems but the best opportunity we have to fix them is by working together not dividing us