You can only see what you want to see. And it matters.
When I quit smoking several months ago, all I could see was people smoking.
It was everywhere. On the streets. In the movies. washrooms.
The reason? withdrawal symptoms.
Anyone who tried quitting smoking knows the struggle. You crave nicotine the whole day. All you can think about are cigarettes. Your mind naturally searches for cigarettes. Everywhere you go you see people smoking.
In my case, I could smell cigarettes from miles away.
But this phenomenon is not only limited to cigarettes. You can see this in your own life:
Saving money to buy the new iPhone? You start seeing iPhone ads everywhere. Even though you are flooded with hundreds of other notifications and ads, your eyes will only see iPhone ads.
It's midnight and you are hungry af? Your mind searches for that one open restaurant in every nook and cranny of the streets. Because all you care about are restaurants now. An alien could walk past you, but you don't see him. You only care about food.
Are you a businessman? You see opportunities that others can’t see.
Ever since I got into the world of marketing and copywriting, All I see are persuasive words and ads. Even today, during my morning walk today I spotted several ads — both on the streets and on the phone.
Our mind has the superpower to search for things we care about.
A bottle of water could be in front of you. But you will never see it unless you are thirsty. But you could spot the same bottle of water on the supermarket rack, at the farthest end of the aisle if you are thirsty.
Do you understand?
Okay, so why this phenomenon matters?
It matters because it affects your life. For better or for worse.
Now, listen carefully.
If you are a feminist woman who believes all men are shitty, you will only see and attract all the shitty men in the world.
If you believe the world is a shitty place, You will only see terrorism, mass shooting, famine, and hunger on the news.
You only see what you believe in.
I realize this months ago when I tried a meditation course called “Gratitude” on Headspace.
At the end of each session, there was a mini-exercise for the day. It was to actively look for the things that make me happy — no matter how trivial that thing is:
- The traffic signal turning green moments before I reach the stop.
- The smell of my favorite perfume.
- My morning cup of chai, a beautiful flower, puppies…
Literally, anything that brings a sense of joy.
The purpose of this exercise was to rewire my brain.
Humans are naturally inclined to pay attention to all the bad and negative stuff in the world. We are just wired that way.
But by doing this mini-exercise, I was forcing myself to change my perspective and pay attention to the good and positive stuff around me.
It eventually changed my belief system too. I started to believe the fact that the world ain't that shitty after all. Suddenly, all I could see was good things. Things that made me happy.
I could spot a hundred things that made me happy on a given day.
The sort of information you consume and the people you surround yourself with also determine what you see.
You start reading business books and suddenly all you see is opportunities.
You follow vegan pages on Instagram that claim people who eat meat are evil, then you eventually start to believe that. You will join communities that foster these beliefs.
If you surround yourself with people who only talk about ice-creams, all you can see is ice cream.
If you surround yourself with people who talk business, all you see is business opportunities.
This is why you should be mindful of the things you consume and question everything you believe.
I have a book recommendation for you:
The thing you can see only when you slow down by Haemin Sunim
your beliefs, perceptions, psychology, and what you care about impact what you see and shape your perception of the world. And how you see the world impacts your thoughts. And your thought impacts your life.
it's especially important to question your beliefs and consume content mindfully in an era of information overload.
If you liked this article, make sure to give it a clap and share it with someone who would benefit from this idea. And gimme a follow too because I will be posting more stuff like this in the future.
Have a wonderful day.
