Why you are always wrong
Based on a true story, the following success impulse shows that people often simply adapt reality to their personal beliefs. But this is not always the right way...
Here is a true story: A sect in America believed that the world would end on a very specific day. The only way to escape this doom was to gather at a certain place at a set time and wait for a spaceship that would save those gathered there. The people there believed so strongly in this story that they prepared in all ways for their departure from the sinking Earth. So they waited for the spaceship at the predicted time. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened. No spaceship. No end of the world. After a while, they pulled away again.
And now comes the amazing thing: The cult members did not admit afterwards that they had been mistaken. Instead they reinterpreted the missing end of the world without further ado. The world had not come to an end exactly because the extraterrestrial powers had felt the bundled energy of the cult members and therefore let go of their intention. In other words: the doomsday disciples have simply adapted the reality to their belief - not vice versa.
Bizarre, isn't it? That would never happen to you! Certainly not. You can think rationally! Are you sure?
Well, the truth is different: We all bend many realities to fit our beliefs, our faith. Here are a few examples from real life:
- "The customer only looks at the price; we just have to give discounts!" Really? Maybe I'm just not good at communicating value as a salesperson. No, I just believe customers want everything cheaper and cheaper. Then I don't have to adjust my beliefs.
- "Generation Z just doesn't want to work anymore!" We can believe that. Perhaps many simply do not want to bow to the cumbersome processes and ideas of their elders. But just: it is easier to distort reality than to change one's own belief in one's own supremacy.
- "They up there / they down there just don't understand what's really going on!" Exactly: this is how we create our own bubble of belief and prefer not to listen to the others at all. The best thing is to "cancel" them altogether. Because it does not fit our faith.
As is often the case, understanding the context is the first step to change. If you keep reminding yourself that your beliefs are often only your belief in the "spaceship" in the opening example, you are also more likely to consider other ways of looking at things.
Is that easy? Not at all. But it's guaranteed to make the world a better place.
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
