Limited Perceptions

"We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us."
- Virginia Satir

There are times when you face cruel stereotypes from those who are either uneducated or simply do not care to get to know you. When this happens, how do you deal with these limited perceptions? Here are some examples of limited perceptions:

You’re lazy.

A young lady I know was told her entire childhood that she was lazy. When she didn’t do something she was told to do, "You’re so lazy!" was what she’d hear. Over and over, this message was repeatedly hounded into her mind, until she nearly began believing it.

Is she lazy? Maybe, maybe not. The truth is, just because she didn’t do things the very second she was told, does not mean she was lazy back then. But other people’s perception of her created an uncertainty within her that she still deals with today.

You’re stupid.

As a child, I was told I was stupid so many times that I lost count. Every time I did something my mother didn’t like, she let me know how stupid I was.

This message that began as a verbal one from her, eventually started to repeat itself in my mind without anymore help. Finally, it became my own personal mantra. My self-confidence plummeted and I berated myself continuously in my mind.

You’re childish.

This is one that parents often use unwittingly, but should pay more attention to. Children who are repeatedly told they are childish often grow up feeling like they should act older than their age. In addition, they often feel like it’s not okay to be a child, thus losing out on the best parts of their childhood.

The Common Thread

Beneath every limited perception lies a single common thread. You might have already noticed this commonality in the examples above. Other people’s limited perceptions often lead you to believe their perceptions about yourself. When this happens, your self-esteem waves good-bye and you set out on a long road of self-criticism and poor self-value.

Help Yourself

When you feel yourself being degraded by other’s limited perceptions of you, put up a block in your mind. Imagine yourself protected by an enormous brick wall, of which their fiery darts of negative words bounce and fall to the ground.

You can’t always change the way other people think about or perceive you. However, you can prevent yourself from soaking in that negativity and turning it on yourself. You are unique. There is nobody else like you. Be proud of who you are.

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