Since November 2022, I have been writing a column about mental strength in the newspaper “Der Ybbstaler”.
In the following I publish the text of the first column of 19.05.2022:

Welcome to the mental toughness column. Here you will find tips and tricks to build their mental strength to better cope with the challenges in their daily lives and “recharge their batteries”.

Today, it’s about how we perceive our surroundings and experiences.

You probably know situations where several people have experienced something together. Later, when they talk again about what they have experienced together, they realize that there are sometimes significant differences in the narratives.

This is due to the fact that we perceive our “world” in a filtered way. Our brain processes thousands of sensory impressions simultaneously. To deal with this “data”, these impressions are unconsciously divided into relevant and not relevant. The irrelevant impressions are ignored. This distinction is very individual.

In behavioral psychology there is the so-called cocktail party effect. It is the phenomenon that in a situation where many people are talking in confusion, they can still understand their opposite well. The conversations of the others are background noise. Suddenly, from all the background noise, they register that their name has been called.

In this effect, you can see how their brain works. They hear your name out of the irrelevant background noise because that is relevant to them or their brain.

Magicians also make use of our perceptual filter to amaze us. Suddenly this rabbit is there, whereas the hat before it was empty.

As mentioned before, each filter (WHAT and HOW we experience something) is individual. Just being aware of this can help avoid unnecessary conflicts. Instead of arguing about who is right about how a situation was experienced, next time they can note the different perceptions. This alignment of perceptions can avoid many misunderstandings.

Exercise: Go with a second person to a busy place and after about 10-15 minutes tell each other what each noticed. You will be amazed at the differences.

Want to know more about today’s topic? Or would you like to learn how to better improve your mental well-being? I invite them to a free initial consultation (lasting about 30 minutes). I offer individual trainings and for companies workshops. If you are interested, contact me by e-Mail at andreas@mind-navigator.at

 

You want to know more, then contact me for a free initial consultation (30 min):