Anaïs Nin said we don’t see the world as it is but as we are.

But what shapes who we are?

Over time how we believe is formed from the dust gathered from our experiences. And that paints how we see the world.

How Does Our Perception of the World Affect Our Reality?

When considering how one reaches a state of fulfillment, success, or happiness, one must realize that it’s not external. These concepts are a matter of perception based on the internal.

If there is no sense of contentment in our internal world, we will be unable to manifest fulfillment, feel truly successful or be happy in the external world. The lives we live are reflections. What is on the inside eventually leaks out.

Where does happiness come from?

Happiness comes from alignment.

Howard Falco writes in his book “The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are.” “If reality validates our beliefs, we feel peaceful or positive. If reality invalidates or conflicts with our beliefs, we feel negative.”

He continues, “When we can’t validate what we believe to be true, we tend to feel confused, upset, or out of harmony.”

And so the key is in how we shape our beliefs.

Developing Beliefs (Building our Mainframe)

What we believe is a construct. It’s developed from the information we have received and the confirmation or non-confirmation of those ideas we have been taught.

If an idea is confirmed, it becomes a truth to us. It becomes like a rule or a standard of practice. These standards give meaning, providing us with a reference point. So, when we have future experiences, we hold them up to that reference point. And then, our mind works to filter out those things we have been programmed to believe are unnecessary and re-train focus on what we have come to define as pertinent.

Fundamentally we are all biased beings Because our knowledge is incomplete. We don’t know what we don’t know.  So, our databases are corrupted. And if our databases are corrupted, our mainframe doesn’t work properly. So, our filters are broken by default. And as a result, we misinterpret and misread situations.

 Many people, I included, sometimes move in and out of a state of unfulfillment because our expectations are built on faulty premises.

An Example:

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For example: If growing up, every time I did something good, I was rewarded with a gift. I would eventually equate receiving a gift with acceptance and being loved.  If this happened repeatedly, it would become the standard by which I judged whether I was loved or not in other circumstances.

On the contrary, if I were denied things when I made a mistake or didn’t do as well, it would serve to confirm what I began to believe as true. That is, love means receiving that is stored in my mental mainframe

Measuring the Present Using a Limited Database (Corrupted Mainframe)

when seeking love or determining if someone loves me, by default, I hold that experience up to that rule book. On the occasion when I would not receive something from the one I loved on a special day, whether it would be a comment or gift, it would set off triggers. My programming would tell me that I was unloved.

But that is not necessarily true.

People love differently.

But until I reprogram my database, I will continue to be disappointed.

So, I must change my definition to open myself up to receive love in the way others can give it.  Then I will experience fulfillment, happiness, or success in love.

Final Summation

Fulfillment comes from wiping the mainframe. That means starting all over, unlearning what I have learned, and gaining new knowledge, thereby taking the limitations off of my beliefs. Because as James Allen penned “As a Man Thinketh.”