“We see the world not as it is but as we are.”—This famous quote—popularized by author Anaïs Nin and later Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—means our brains do not act like neutral cameras. Instead, our unique past experiences, personal beliefs, deep-seated emotions, and cultural conditioning create an internal lens that colors everything we experience.
How Perception Works
Mental Filters: We filter raw facts through past hurts, joys, and assumptions.
Conditioning: Society and family teach us what to expect and how to judge.
Projection: We often assume others feel or act the way we do inside.
Bias: We look for proof that matches what we already believe is true.
Why This Matters
Empathy: Knowing our view is subjective helps us understand that other people have different, valid lenses.
Growth: When we change our inner mindset, our outer problems or relationships often look completely different.
Self-Awareness: How we judge or criticize the world around us is often a direct reflection of our own hidden state of mind.
https://medium.com/@pulkitsharma_92248/beyond-the-dichotomy-of-good-and-bad-5f828a2bec74
Know Thyself 