In our last post we discussed that when I attach fear to an event or person, then seek to justify my fearful judgment, which validates and amplifies my fear, I get mired down into circular thinking. What might I do to break out of a fearful thinking vortex before I get pulled down the misunderstanding drain. Remembering that education tends to dissolve fear, I could benefit from learning more about the real nature of my world.
When I attribute a motive to a behavior I observe in another, I draw that attribution from my beliefs. I THINK I understand why another person did what they did, yet I have actually judged myself as I have imagined ME doing what the other person has done in that context.
That’s Because…
My experience is my perception of my experience. My perception of your experience is still my perception of my experience (of your experience). Same goes for the experience of any and all others and any and all things I observe in my universe. The common element is – “MY perception of MY experience.”
All that I attribute to causes outside myself is a window into myself.
What to Do about Fearful Misattributions
One way I can break out of a fearful misattribution thinking cycle is to investigate judgments and observations of my world in light of the truth – it’s all my perception of my experience.
My most strongly defended misattributions are usually in the format, “if this – then only that” or “only this because only that.” For example, I might witness a behavior and say to myself, “The only reason they’d do that is because they are [some judgment].” The keyword is “ONLY” – and its synonyms.
As I consider my misattributions with an intent to understand who I am viewing in the mirror of my perceptions, I’ll let the fear go. I’ll release my need to externalize my judgment of me. I’ll bring the judgment home. I’ll take accountability for it. I’ll thus return my energy back to me and raise my degree of illumination in the process.
