“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change” – Wayne Dyer
We had friends visiting at the weekend and took a trip to the Twist Museum in Oxford Circus. It’s an immersive experience, developed in collaboration with artists, neuroscientists, and philosophers, that explores and tests the power of your mind in experiencing the world around you.
It was both illuminating and challenging and got me thinking about how we create our own reality in how we perceive and interpret the events in our lives, which in turn inform our emotions and how we choose to behave.
We create our own internal world, which may differ to how others see things – your perception of an event may not be the reality experienced by someone else.
This can be really challenging to navigate. It can lead to misunderstandings and conflict, whilst also providing opportunities for personal growth as we consider other viewpoints and perspectives.
Pause for a moment and consider these questions:
❓ Can you think of an issue or event where what you once believed is no longer true?
❓ How did what you believe influence how you perceived that issue or event?
Perception comes up a lot in coaching; how people process and understand things and how this impacts their feelings and responses.
Coaching can be an impactful and valuable tool for supporting and enhancing individuals’ perceptions by fostering self-awareness, challenging assumptions, and providing tools and feedback.
As a coach, I work with my clients by:
💡 Supporting deeper understanding of their own perspectives and beliefs, providing more clarity and self-awareness
💡 Holding a mirror up to how their perceptions may be affecting their actions and decisions, helping highlight blind spots or biases
💡 Encouraging reflective practice to enhance their self-understanding, development, learning, growth, and wellbeing
💡 Challenging assumptions and biases by encouraging them to apply critical thinking and empathy, to help to see things from alternative perspectives
💡 Building confidence in their perceptions and decision-making abilities, empowering them to gauge their instincts and trust their judgements
What have you changed your mind about and what has this given you?