Dirty Lens
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world.
Scrub them off every once in a while,
or the light won’t come in.”
—Alan Alda
“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
—William Shakespeare
Seen through a dirty window, a sunny day looks gray, dark and dim. So, not willing to tolerate a less than accurate view, we clean the window.
Our individual “point of view” on the world (which we often mistake for ourselves…) is not necessarily pristine or unalterable. Sometimes, we collect a little dust or a smudge on the lens in the form of an attitude that tends to show up only around certain people. Maybe it’s a way of thinking about someone you “instinctively” dislike… (Instinctively? Really?) Perhaps there’s a lack of confidence when facing certain activities. “You know how it’s going to turn out, so why go?” Time for a window cleaning?!
Assumptions are the “dirt on the lens” of life. They cloud our view of reality. There’s Reality — and “our assumptions” about it. There’s Life — and our Beliefs about Life. There’s that office meeting you were called to, and there’s your hypothesis about its purpose or outcome. And each of those is the creation of a mind — peering through a viewpoint — unaware of the dirt: the beliefs, assumptions and hypotheses which are distorting the perception of what’s actually going on.
The accretion of “dirt on the lens”, the accumulation of beliefs, assumptions, judgments, doubts, hypotheses, fears, worries; is an un-noticed part of living. It wouldn’t be so problematic if we noticed every “bug” on our windshield — for we’d obviously stop and wipe it clean at the next opportunity. But “dirt on the lens of life” collects, (sometimes forever) without our conscious awareness, and so, over time, we are handicapped by our self-imposed disconnection and distancing from life.
Cognitive Optimization: Correcting Our Perceptions
The fault is not in the world, but our perception of it. So, it lies with us to optimize our perception, our ability to perceive what is actually occurring, and to respond in ways which are more and more lofty and causative — rather than merely reacting.
The Transformative Dialogue is a Conversation, but a very special one.
Talking helps. Seek out a trusted counselor or mentor; someone who can help you examine your perceptions and start to wipe away old beliefs. You begin to feel lighter, and brighter because, with no dirt on the Lens, nothing clouds your clear view of the world.
Applications
1. For You
How much dirt is sitting on your lens — un-noticed? Are there any assumptions occluding your clear view of people, circumstances, family or business? Are there some recurring aggravations, irritations, setbacks or upsets that seem to be a standard part of your life experience? Is it possible that they arrived with you? Why not take some time and have a dialogue to engage the examination and clean the lens — before any new problems occur?
2. In the Family
We like our viewpoints. We’ve grown used to seeing the world through the shaded, shaped and muddied viewpoints to which we’ve grown so accustomed. Is your son tending to be a bit of a victim from day to day? Does your daughter bully other children? Is your mate/partner sort of dim when it comes to tracking (and being compassionate about) what others think/feel? Have they cleaned their windshields lately? Can you coach them to pay more attention?
3. In the Office
Entire companies, divisions and individual offices are often “stuck in a loss or stuck in a win.” The challenge for you and your team is to keep each other sharp by challenging the cherished assumptions on which you base your day-to-day conduct of the business. Has anything changed? Should it? Must it change in order to foster the emergence of a new success? So?
If your life looks anything other than clear, sharp and distinct, (and optimistic), don’t let that cave you in!
Stop, clean the windshield (and your viewpoint) and take another look!
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