Perception is the first discipline you need to overcome obstacles
Perception is how you see the world or situations you’re currently in. In other words, your view of what is going on around you has a say in who you are and what you believe. Perception makes or breaks people, and only the people that understand how to see situations for what they are can grab the benefits of the opportunity.
Ryan Holiday cites the investment expert John D. Rockefeller as an individual who could master his perception and see through the mayhem of the business world. Rockefeller’s company, Standard Oil, started from obscurity to dominate the market, and it withstood three trying economic periods in US history. At this point, it was clear that Standard Oil was only mirroring the personality of the owner.
Rockefeller’s disciplined perception gave him insights into the opportunities that thrived in chaos. He sought strategies to find a way through obstacles, so his perception didn’t see these challenges as barriers anymore. Similarly, you can choose to know what you want to see. You could focus on the negatives or magnify possibilities and the chances that each barrier avails.
⚡️Perception is personal. You have more control over what you believe than you realize.
However, to achieve this, you must unlearn how you have come to see things, remain calm when in doubt or when others panic, assess the problem, and look for answers.
“My life is one long obstacle course with me as the chief obstacle.”
Ryan Holiday
In your pursuit of answers, you must come to recognize your power to choose between flight or fight. You can decide to find patterns that could turn the obstacle into a learning phase, or you could crumble in the face of barriers and accept defeat. This moment of truth determines your output. As such, you understand your capacity to overturn situations is the second step at disciplining your perception.
It would help if you also held steady nerves in the face of challenges. Regardless of the obstacle, you can plan a countermove to chart a way through it. There is nothing for you to worry about; there are only opportunities to come.
Did you know? According to Oxford Languages, the definition of perception is “the way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.”