Perception Is Everything 🧠

Our perception is merely a lens from which we form our view of people, events and things (i.e. our worldview).

In other words, we believe what we perceive to be accurate and we create our own realities based on those perceptions. Although these perceptions may feel very real, that doesn’t mean they are necessarily factual.

via Giphy

This means that our realities are quite negotiable based on the story we tell ourselves and most people form their worldview based on two conditions - What will make us happy and what can reasonably help predict our future.

1. Confirmation Bias
   
   We have a tendency to shape any new information we get based on how it fits within our existing worldview. Science and facts are ignored to ensure that prior conclusions remain intact. We see this often in polarising topics such as religion and politics; People resists change because when a core foundation of what you believe in is wrong, your entire foundation collapses.
   

2. Perceived Value > Functional Utility
   
   Advertising adds value by changing the narrative and thereby our perception of the product, rather than the actual product itself because perceived value is just as (if not more) satisfying as one with a real functional value.
   
   In the early days of video conferencing ,there was a naive belief that it was a substitute for all face to face meetings and that nobody would need travel anymore. With the pandemic, this could well be the case but in this post COVID transition, business travel is coming back again. While Zoom allows meetings to be done remotely, most relationships are built in person and nothing signals to a client how important their business is to your firm when you pay for a business class ticket to meet them in person.

3. The story we tell ourselves about something is more important than the actual thing happening.
   
   When something bad happens, the narrative in our heads becomes the reality that dictates our reaction and our emotions. The amygdala is the part of our brain’s limbic system that activates the fight-or-flight response. This response can help people in immediate physical danger react quickly for their safety and security. In today’s context, this response is more likely to be triggered by emotions such as stress, fear, anxiety, aggression, and anger.
   
   The amygdala is prone to being hijacked by our body’s chemical response to stress and often causes us to react with inappropriate or irrational behaviour that we eventually regret. The prefrontal cortex on the other is more rational and regulates actions like reasoning, thinking, decision-making etc. It allow you to evaluate your emotions and then use your experiences and judgement to consciously respond.
   
   The trick is to hold off our reactions to a situation long enough (counting down from 10 helps) for the prefrontal cortex to catch up. By controlling the story we tell ourselves about what is happening, we can reframe our perception (and ultimately our “reality”) into something positive.
   

4. We rearrange the world into arbitrary hierarchies
   
   As humans we tend to subconsciously rearrange the world into arbitrary hierarchies - it helps us maintain our beliefs, make sense of the world and feel better about ourselves.
   
   Some people organise their unconscious hierarchy based on money or status, showing off with expensive cars, watches or job titles.

   
   When I was younger, I would look at these people and think well.. at least I have [ABC] or I’m not [XYZ]. That was my way of rearranging the world in such a way that I, the unemployed student without a job, car or Rolex, came out on top. Changing the reference point made me feel better.
   
   We do this all the time. In fact, we do it several times a day. We constantly organise the world in a way that lets us come out on top.
   
   Once you see this idea, you can’t unsee it. It’s everywhere. You see it in politics, in food choices, and possessions. You see it in the books you buy, trips you take, and subtle words people use when gossiping. You see it in values, education, and houses.
   
   While we don’t always need to come out on top, we often organise the world in a way where we are always better than someone else. When someone infringes on our unconscious sense of hierarchy it triggers an instinctive, animal-like, response.