I would like to share a personal experience of an epiphany I had in school. I had entered my room to charge my phone which already had a flat battery. Prior to this, my bunkmate and I used to share my white charger. So even when I met a lot of phones charging, I just removed the white cord connected to her phone and used it to charge mine. After a while, I guess she noticed what I done and asked, " why did you unplug my phone?" I replied almost immediately "you were using my charger". She said, "No I wasn't, Jennifer (a fellow roommate) was". Amidst surprise and doubt, I went to see for myself and yeah, Jennifer was actually using my charger. Okay, I know this sounds funny, but I want you to take your mind off the chargers and bring it to what was going on in my head when I did all these. I already assumed that she would be using my charger, so even when there were a lot chargers right in my front, the only charger I saw was the one connected to her phone.
I had conditioned my mind as to what should 'be' rather than what ' was '. The kind of map in my head couldn't make me see the true territory. One important lesson that struck me after that epiphany was how many a times we make precipitious assumptions about things without actually wanting to see them for what they really are. Because the way we behave is a function of the way we see things, we cannot effectively change our behaviours, attitudes or even actions if we don't change the fountain from which they all spring - our perspectives. Our perspectives govern the way we see ourselves and the world around us. So when you see a person that is optimistic, so full of energy and only sees the bright side of everything, you should understand that his perspective of life is deeply rooted in positivity. Conversely, a pessimist who incessantly complains and nags and is negative about everyone and everything around him, must have a negative outlook on life. As such, it takes a level of self awareness to withhold myopic and conditioned perspective of the people and things around us, and start seeing from an open and more encompassing point of view.