The Perception Game

What is a perception? Is it some knowledge that you gain by seeing something or someone? Or is it your true belief in something? Is the perception almost always true? Or does it, like all other good things, have flaws?

So, I was midst my training session at the company that I started working for, when the trainer said that we should all play the perception game. The game has rules, but is simple. All we need to do is to tell our perception to everyone of what we thought they would be like when we first saw them or met them. It sounded simple enough, and the game began.

Everyone got their turns, and when the ball rolled on to me, I got intimidated. One by one, all of my fellow trainees poured out their perceptions about me....what did they think I would be like when they first saw me. There were people who said really nice things about me, like "I wanted to be friends with him", and "I found him really cool, with a cool accent"....and yes, then came the huge bump on the head...."I thought he was a security guard and not a trainee!"....and I was like, "what the heck!!!!????"

So, it was now my trainer's turn to tell her perception of me....and if you have read my earlier post, you would know that I am really fond of my trainer, and so I was obviously expecting something really cool. But then the bitter truth came out, "I thought you were a typical Punjabi and I did not like you!". I was spell bound....and angry and sad....and I felt as if all the blood rushed into my head....I thought I would explode!

But luckily, she clarified that it was all a perception....and that she was totally wrong! But all this made me wonder....we meet so many people everyday....and we perceive of what they will be like. But when we get to know them, what ever we had perceived them to be is almost never right. Then why do we still do it?

Why can't we simply pass a smile to a disabled rather than turning our faces away in disgust? Why do we set our expectations on someone who seems appealing, and who ends up breaking our trust in any case? Why do we perceive? Why do we go by looks and not by what's inside? Why doesn't someone with a bad appearance deserve a chance to be known and explored? I speak for myself, and I know that I am no different. But that perception game did teach me to pass a smile....to try being nice even to someone whom I think wont be nice.

Let's all give the worthy a chance....lets all pass a smile....lets all play the perception game, and know what really hidden inside!

Happy Perceiving Everyone!