Pearl Kyaw 12 - Mentality
Anything is possible, as long as you believe in it. This can be taken almost quite literally. The brain is a curious thing, being the body’s most complex organ. It takes charge of all of the body’s functions, as well as affairs including emotions, memory, thought, and more.
The way you think can determine your entire life. Each person perceives the world, those around them, and themselves differently, and they are able to function based on those perceptions. A common misconception is the idea that “perception is reality.” Perception may shape your reality, but they do not equal to being the same concept. Reality is an overarching concept that exists for every living being in the world, humans and other species alike, but one’s perception of it is to each their own.
A person’s mental state can determine their entire world. This is where that misconception originates from. Simple decisions can lead to outcomes of varying degrees. Take procrastination as an example. This is something that many people struggle with. I, for one, procrastinated on writing this blog despite having an idea for what to write planned out. Disregarding those with real mental disabilities, procrastination is often a result of mentality and decision-making. With enough willpower, people can easily break out of those binds if they simply decide to get on with the activity they are procrastinating on. I went from procrastinating on my blog to writing it just because I thought, okay, I should work on it. This change in thought process is what initiated me to begin working rather than doing anything else.
One thing I find particularly interesting about the power of perception is to what degree someone’s entire world can change. A good example of this is being blindfolded. Without being able to see, your perception of the outside world is the only thing that you can rely on. You could be fed something that smells like a potato, feels like a potato, and tastes like a potato, believing wholeheartedly that you just ate a potato. Without being told that you were fed a cauliflower, you would go on with your entire life believing that while blindfolded, you ate a potato. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the most solid example. However, I do have this story I found particularly interesting.
A prisoner is blindfolded, strapped to a bed, and told by his captors that small wounds have been inflicted on his body to drain his blood. He is fed the belief that he was bleeding out, and would die of blood loss. He is left alone in the room, blindfolded, afraid, and unable to understand what situation he is in. All he can grasp is the sound of dripping blood echoing throughout the room. Simply by believing that he was bleeding to death, the prisoner eventually died. In reality, that sound of dripping blood was only water. His blood was never really being drained, but the sound and his beliefs were enough to kill him.
I am not 100% if this story is true, as I remember hearing it a long time ago, although, research has told me this was used as a torture method in Mongolia and France. However, the idea this story presents is entirely true and has been seen to hold in various other scenarios. If a person really, wholeheartedly believes they are dying, they will die. This is why in life threatening situations, it is important to not give up and continue fighting to live.
Hi Pearl! These principles about the power of the brain's perception to alter a person's life are so interesting, as on the surface it seems like there is no reason for a person to be affected by something that doesn't exist. The first thing that came to mind when reading your blog was the placebo effect, which is basically when something passed off as a treatment can actually improve a person's condition despite not having any sort of medicinal value. That story about the prisoner and the "blood" dripping is pretty strange, as it's pretty unclear what even caused him to die. He clearly didn't die from blood loss since he wasn't actually losing any blood so what killed him? My guess is that the stress he had from thinking he was bleeding out caused his condition to worsen, eventually leading to his death, but it's impossible to be sure. It's such a scary case about what our brains have the power to do based off of what we assume is happening to us.
ReplyDeleteHi Pearl! Your bold does a great jab of exploring the “power of perception” and how it can shape our reality. The idea of just simply believing in something that can physically affect a person especially with the prisoner story that you mentioned. This really reminds me of the nocebo effect, Which is like the placebo effect but in reverse do you get what I'm saying, where negative expectations can lead to real negative outcomes. I learned this in psychology. It's terrifying to think that our own minds can work against us in such extreme ways but if you think about it we could also use that power in our own way like the movie “Lucy”. Your example about being blindfolded and mistaking qualifier for a potato also had me thinking about how easily our senses can be tricked. It's crazy how much reality is just our brain interprets it about.
ReplyDeleteHey Pearl! Your entry really made me think about how much power our own minds hold over our lives. The way you described the difference between perception and reality was so interesting—I've definitely heard the saying "perception is reality" before, but I never thought about how that isn't always the case. Your procrastination illustration really struck a chord with me because it's something that I struggle with too, and you're absolutely right that it comes down to attitude. It's incredible how just deciding to push yourself can completely flip the situation around. The blindfold examples were so creative the way you articulated your point, especially the prisoner anecdote. Whether it's true or not, the fact that one's beliefs would make them killed is both appalling and intriguing. It really shows how powerful the mind is when it comes to generating what we call reality. I also loved how your blog post ended on a very optimistic note, reminding us to persevere no matter what happens. I learned so much from your writing about the importance of recognizing my own thinking and how it can change my life so much. This was such a great read, and I am so looking forward to reading what you have next!
ReplyDeleteHi Pearl! I enjoyed reading your blog, as it was intriguing how you dove into the power of perception and how it shapes our decisions and outcomes in our everyday lives. It was quite interesting reflecting on how we may all view each other in a different light; we may show different sides of ourselves to different people, meaning that everyone probably has a different opinion of you than others, and even yourself. I also found it fascinating how the brain's influence on our mental state can lead to profound changes in our actions, like in your example about procrastination. While the story about the prisoner is chilling and uneasy, it powerfully demonstrates the great impact belief and perception can have on our physical reality. The idea that someone's mental state can influence their physical well-being in such an extreme way is both compelling yet unsettling. Your blog made me reflect on how our perception of the world around us, and even ourselves, play a much larger role in our lives than we may think. I loved reading your blog and look forward to the next ones!
ReplyDeletePearl, I really like the message of this Blog Post. The power of our perception is something I have found to be the case in my own life as well. The way you characterized procrastination as an issue of perception―that we do it because we somehow believe we have to, but it is the realization that we can just get the task done immediately that can break through procrastination―is pretty accurate and something I can definitely relate to. I think this can also be applicable to other facets of life. I find that the times in my life when I am struggling the most are the periods where I perceive myself to be powerless, inferior, or incapable. I found the anecdote about the prisoner who believed he was losing blood to be really powerful because it is such an extreme example of this concept. I would love to know how true it is, and if it is grounded in fact, if there is a scientific explanation. Overall, great job on this Blog Post!
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