Perceptions
Are we mostly living life on survival mode?
I was having a lovely lunch with a friend of mine, and as for many souls especially for the wealthier and possibly more dissatisfied Gen X, career and work matters came up. Bottom line, we came to the conclusion that as hard as we work and as good as we know we can be, someone is always dissatisfied with the end product. Sadly, this can create more frustrations and mental stress. Perhaps this very issue is pushing many Millenials and Gen Z to resign and pursue other interests. Granted perhaps many workers of that generation do not have family or family commitments and it feels easier for them just to move on.
We are at this stage in our lives, whereupon job satisfaction and the ease that comes with mutual appreciation should become the norm. However, many of us are lumbered with family to support, possibly high mortgages, school fees amongst others. We chase the big-ticket job to maintain this chaos which in turn feeds the inner mental chaos. Then we produce to the best of our abilities, only to be told: “Sorry, not good enough, can more be done!”.
Classic case of misperception or false perceptions.
The Great Escape
This issue of perception can induce the ‘Fake it to make it an attitude, that so many of us Gen Xers have come to live by. So much so that we cannot ditch the facade and bring it home to our young children, who in turn may model this poor thinking pattern. They will take it to their schools, push themselves super hard rather than learning from mistakes because making mistakes is simply not allowed. Sure, they will get to top universities, get top jobs and repeat what was taught to them. However, some wiser ones could ditch this schema and choose to live rather than survive to earn. Hence we now witness “The Great Escape” which is en-masse resignation from non-satisfying jobs. The search for better has become the search for a happier and meaningful life, not just adding more zeros to our bank account. If anything, it is shifting the perception of success from a life of toil to a life full of abundance and joy.
Burn Out Generation v/s Joy
So bluntly, I should ask: “Is this toil and hard work all worth it?”. Are our precious careers inducing more mental strain, creating more mental disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorders (BPD), anxiety, depression, as you feel you are swimming against the currents. The very tool that is meant to financially empower us becomes the very thing that affects our mental health and potentially triggers stress disorders leading to cardiovascular disease. And all of this is culminated by perceptions setting off cytokine storms leading to burnout and slow but sure death, the only common reality we all have.
Why speed up this reality when in fact we can all achieve to live with joy. The question is how to live by joy? Is joy a perception of the mind or can it be a reality? With joy, work no longer becomes hard and stressful, it becomes sheer joy and passion. My beloved late father used to say: make your work your hobby. He loved building in the name of creating a better future for the younger generations.
A deep look into us: self-perception
Do we need a complete breakdown to pieces to reevaluate our lives? Perhaps so. And hence in order for us to have the right perceptions of ourselves, perhaps we should be brave enough to look deeply into ourselves and perhaps refigure our own perceptions of our true selves. A holistic therapist can guide you into your own self-evaluation and help get to know yourself better and love yourself. But ultimately, it is up to you to improve your own self-perception.
Perhaps, this whole concept of perception is a myth created by our own minds. In other words, we can accept how others perceive us, but more importantly, know how to walk away from what others think of us. In other words, just smile and nod and move on. How others perceive us no longer disbalances us and no longer impacts our thoughts, our behaviour towards one another and more importantly, no longer affects our fragile mental selves.
Brain health and healthy perception
Consequently, self-perceptions can help us befriend ourselves and connect us to our brain, the very organ needed for creativity. At job interviews, we are evaluated by our IQ, and our yearly performance is a measurement of our stamina to perform. What would be the purpose of such rigmarole (forgive my poor opinion of the traditional “workplace system”), if our brains, our ultimate computer, fails us because we are too stressed out largely by the perceptions of others? What is the cost-benefit of an unhappy and unhealthy brain on the grand scale of things?
Do we need to navigate through our precious journeys with such unconsciousness? Life is not about winning a competition, as this notion of competition is a misperception. Perhaps in the short term, it sure feels super great to feel wealthy, but does that make us rich? I believe that we owe our brain more respect by appreciating its limit. Our brain needs love and care, a healthy brain potentially produces healthy minds, healthy minds create healthy perceptions. Perhaps a healthy perception is a sure path to a healthy and joyful life. Sounds prescriptive, but think about it, don't we owe it to ourselves to feel and live in pure bliss. It is not selfish, it is self-love.
Finally…
Shifting our thinking patterns and ultimately shifting our perceptions may help us reset our minds. After all, our brains are blessed with plasticity, something we ought to appreciate more. Nothing is set in stone, neither are (mis)perceptions. I am guilty of that just as any soul is and perhaps it is high time I shift my own perceptions…
Stay true to yourselves my lovely readers, keep yourselves in a good place as life is not meant to be so hard, hard being the perception that we were often taught as young children. True we face challenges, some days more than others. However, it is all how we deal with these challenges that can change the perception of life.
Sending you all light…
