Thoughts are the product of your mental activity, a consideration or reflection of something. Perception is the act of perceiving or apprehending by means of the senses or the mind; and paradigms are frameworks containing basic assumptions, ways of thinking and reflections.

Your both conscious and subconscious thoughts define your perceptions, and perceptions collectively define your paradigms, which are oftentimes based on your assumptions and opinions. This is a powerful statement and you should marinate on it again. Our perceptions can blind us from the truth, our thoughts lead to emotions, emotions lead to actions and thus results – be it positive or negative, right or wrong. Your victories are measured and life defined by the everyday decisions you make. Would you want to make all these vital decisions in life based on assumptions? Surely not.

Below is an excerpt from the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, where the author shares his experience of a mini-paradigm shift; pay attention to the shift in his perception, thus changes in his thoughts, emotions and behaviours.

               “I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly – some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. It was difficult no to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

               The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

               Can you imagine what I felt at the moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. Everything changed in an instant. “

 

This is exactly why our thoughts, perceptions and paradigms are very important and at the same time, dangerous. Our thoughts define our perceptions and paradigms which congruently influences our emotions, actions and results. Are your relationships in a crisis? Is your business struggling to take off? Or are you just not happy? Our thoughts are the precursors of actions and results. Having positive thoughts and the “right” outlook on things leads to a much more fruitful life in all venues including relationships, health and personal success. The impacts and the consequences of our minds and thoughts are almost incomprehensible; a mother lifts a truck with her bare hands just in time to save her baby, a man dies of hypothermia in an unplugged freezer and you can achieve anything you want in your life. So be humble and admit that your thoughts, perspectives and assumed paradigms on things may be “not right” or “suboptimal”. Just like anything, it requires training and repetition to successfully master our minds and thoughts; admitting and exploring the possibilities that we can be wrong at times, is a great start. It may be just enough to save your business, relationships and even your life.