Perception is something that can make or break you. Perception can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Most people don’t get this. Something happens in life and they’re not able to reflect on it. They act like victims and they slowly but surely get more and more depressed. Life will feel like a living hell if you don’t act upon your own life. Once again: perception can make or break you. I’ll use my own life to show you what I mean. Most people assume that I’m someone special because I’m doing things that they can’t. Well, they assume that they can’t. They’re also afraid to do it. Fear is what’s holding them down but that same fear is motivating me.
I’m not extraordinary I’m just an ordinary guy who once was just an average Joe. You can do what I can do if you’re willing to put in the time and the work. Most people don’t believe me when I say this but we’re all just human. It’s all about perception. The glass of milk can be either half full or half empty. Both people are right but both of them can be wrong as well. There is no right or wrong answer to this question since the glass is half full and half empty. That my friends are perception. It’s realizing that there are always two ways of viewing things. You’ve got to pick the right option if you want to enjoy life.
Perception defines your reality. I started with the wrong one
You should have seen me when I was a little kid. I was small, skinny and extremely shy. I didn’t receive a lot of love from my parents because I was a little pain in the ass. That’s the curse of being an analytic thinker. Yes, I questioned everything and I didn’t want a “because it’s for your own good” answer. People called me a little man and I believed that I was the little man. I have been bullied and believed that I was a loser. My parents were rough on me when I failed at something. They rarely gave me a second chance. They said that nothing good would come out of me and that everybody who knew me had told them this. Life went on and they were right at a certain point.
Yes, I used weed to escape my reality. I indulged way too much alcohol on the weekends to escape everything that happened in the week. It’s was all a form of escapism and I didn’t get it at that moment. There was a point where I even lost my faith. I couldn’t believe that there was a God that would give a person so much bad luck and hardship. Nothing seemed to work out and I was losing everything. I was full of doubts and fears. I was full of excuses and that’s why I couldn’t grow as a person.
Perception can kill you
So it was only a matter of time before I got the inevitable depression. I also got 2 burnouts in a single year and I eventually became suicidal. I couldn’t cope with all the hate from the people. Back then I was wondering where it all came from. My head was constantly on and I lost grip on my own life. The doubts and fears weren’t going away. So I wanted to end my life since that was the only option in my eyes. The glass was half-empty in my perception and I wanted it to be empty. But I’m still here. I didn’t do it. What changed? My perception changed. That made sure that I could turn my whole life around. That’s what kept me alive. Can you guess what happened? The perception took me from Zero To Alpha.
Perception and the journey from Zero To Alpha
My grandfather told me that I looked like my father but had the blood of my mother running through my veins. What the meant was that I was a real fighter and that we never quit on that side of the family. That single sentence was guidance throughout the upcoming story. It became a small light at the end of the tunnel. But it became bigger and bigger over time. I eventually stopped caring about the looks and started reading books. Those made sure that I could cope with the hate from my environment. I suddenly understood why so many people are so hateful towards others. I got into philosophy and kept on learning. I was hooked by Marcus Aurelius his book and that made a big change.
Most people think that I’m insane but I started believing again. I don’t follow a certain religion in particular but I believe that there’s something bigger above us. The nickname Mister Alpha followed along the journey and people were astonished at how much I changed. It’s an everyday process but it’s so damn addictive. I realized that my perception was my reality so I shaped it to what I wanted.
Perception and reality: so what about you?
I thought back in the days that I was a loser but was I one? It was just a self- fulfilling prophecy which I believed in after a while. I wasn’t a loser. It was just an assumption and I acted upon it. All of this seriously shaped me but it shaped me in a good way. It turned me into a fighter that doesn’t want to give in. But all of this is also applicable to you. Your perception shouldn’t negatively shape you. You are a unique human being with your voice and you should be heard. You’ve got so much potential and it would be a waste of you didn’t use it.
Don’t let others hold you down but don’t return hate as well. Returning hate is the wrong way to go and even a waste of time.
Perception and the fact that people can’t define my reality anymore
I dropped out of college almost a year ago and my parents recently claimed that I’ve wasted a whole year. They call me a loser once again but I don’t mind since I know that it isn’t true. I learned a lot this year and I even shared those lessons. I uploaded more than 150 blog posts and I wrote a book that’ll be released soon. People still try to put limits on me but I just won’t accept them. You can call me names all you want but my mind is unbreakable. I just set goals and I crush them one by one. That’s something that you’ve got to realize as well. Be the hardest worker in the room and let your results speak for itself. Don’t waste time hating back on others.
You should be addicted to the process because that’s what it’s all about. It may sound like a corny quote but hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. It’s all in your head and that that’s something that most people never realize. They give up because others laugh at them but these people were just projecting their insecurities onto you. But how do I find myself back after all of those years?
Every once in awhile take an MMA class
I decided to do MMA this summer. I was hooked and it just became an obsession. Did you know that I had 2 dreams as a kid? I wanted to write a book and I wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I’ve already achieved one so now I’m training to compete. This sounds great Alex but what’s your point here? The point is that you sometimes just have to try something new and maybe it’ll take you back to your roots. Maybe it’ll take you on the road of the best version of you. You don’t have to do MMA. You’ve got to do what you love and love what you do. People started calling me a meathead but I don’t care. They don’t get the sport. I’m at peace with myself and I want everybody to feel like this.
So ask yourself the following question: what would you take up or take back up today if you would die tomorrow? You can’t neglect death because you’ll die one day. Make it count before it’s too late. Perception will guide you along the way. But only the right perception. The wrong one will take you down at a very slow pace.
Perception and the fact that people assume that you’re not normal
My parents and brother assume that I’m not normal because we don’t think alike. I know that more people are living like this so I wanted to help them. Are you abnormal? No, you’re not it’s all perception but I’m going to share a story which will make you feel better in no time.
I do temporary jobs from time to time just to get some money. I started working at a meat processing company with 2 other guys and they talked a lot to me in the beginning. One of them has been in prison and one of them will be in prison at least once in his life. Not my kind of people to hang around with. They are close now and they ignore me which shouldn’t be a surprise. That’s how the law of attraction works. They were nagging at one point about the work and the others and suddenly one of them said something really interesting. He claimed that they were the only 2 normal people in the whole building. They assume that they’re normal but they’re sore losers in my eyes. I hope that they both turn their life around but I doubt it.
Do you get what I was trying to say? Being normal is all a matter of perception. I feel completely normal even when others hate me. It doesn’t matter. Be true to you and smile while you do it.
Perception and the poem
I’m going to share a poem that just hits the nail on the head. I first heard it when Morgan Freeman read it and I was immediately hooked. It’s just a poem that relaxes me. It displays a great mindset and you should adopt it in your own life. You can listen to it here. I’m always silent when I listen to it. It just puts a smile on my face. Just close your eyes and enjoy if you’re listening to it.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods maybe
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Do you get it?
Perception defines your reality. Nelson Mandela memorized this poem while he was imprisoned for 27 years. He still made a big change in his world because he had the right perception.
Perception defines your reality. Make sure that you don’t lose yourself. Just be true to you and smile while you do it since there is no better feeling in the world.
You are the master of your fate; you are the captain of your soul. So where will your journey take you?
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Till next time
Alex
Great article man! Keep it up.
thank you Cody
Appreciate the article man! Keep it up.
thank you Cody