We see the world as we are. We see the world as we expect to see.

Our expectations, our outlook on life, our personal norms, powerfully impact the world we see.

This theme of self-fulfilling prophecy is one I return to over and over (and over) in my writings because it is so potent, so pervasive, yet still so nuanced, so subtle. It is a lesson that I am eternally relearning at ever deeper levels of complexity, discovering ways in which my world view trips me up, blinds me to certain possibilities, or shades certain opportunities, or hinders me from fully being aware of potential in other people, particularly those with cultures or social behaviors different from my own.

There is a story:

Seeking new territory, two shoe salesmen travel to an underdeveloped country. One salesman writes back to the home office, discouraged: “No opportunity here, no one wears shoes.” The other sales rep writes back bursting with enthusiasm: “Tremendous opportunity, everyone barefoot!”

We see the world we expect to see, we interpret our experiences to fit into our world view, we see the world as we are.

Think you can, think you can’t. You are right.

– Are you aware of how you create the world you see?

– Do you pay attention to how others see and interpret the same event?

– Do you think of how others must see the world in order to have the viewpoint they do?

– Are your expectations helping you? Hurting you?

– Does the world you see fill you with gratitude and happiness? Or stress and worry?

– Does the world you see empower you? Or exhaust you?

– How else could you choose to see the world?