Video: What reality are you creating for yourself?

Is reality something you simply perceive, or something you create for yourself? In his thought-provoking talk, Isaac Lidsky draws upon a powerful life experience to show that the latter is what truly matters. Our minds affect much of what happens to us and how we react.

Lidsky uses the analogy of Dorothy and the goldfish to illustrate how this works. One day, her father told her that fish move forwards through the water by wiggling their tails. Dorothy replied that they also swim backwards by wiggling their heads!

Dorothy believed this to be a true fact, and when she saw her goldfish swimming backwards in its tank, she was making faulty assumptions and leaps of logic. We may laugh at her childlike beliefs, but we all do the same in other areas of life – fearing the worst, striving for unattainable perfection and assuming we are right.

Ultimately, everything we see is the result of a virtual reality masterfully constructed by our brains. Your memories, opinions, emotions and mental attention can also “colour” this virtual reality. A hill appears steeper if you have just exercised, for instance, and a landmark appears further away if you are carrying a heavy backpack.

Lidsky’s Ted Talk is a powerful reminder that we create our own realities and, therefore, can change our realities by altering our assumptions and attitudes. Fear, in particular, has the power to paralyse us and hold us back from reaching our full potential. Yet we can learn to discipline our minds to not simply let the awful prophecies of fear fulfil themselves.

We heartily recommend this great TED Talk to help you see beyond your fears, recognise and take control of your assumptions and harness your internal strength.