The notion of bending reality may seem fantastical, but it is entirely plausible. Through intentionality, courage, and creativity, you can absolutely shape your experiences and trajectory. By changing your perceptions, transcending conventional boundaries, and creating new possibilities, you transform how you interpret and interact with the world, and as a result, bend reality. Here are some ways to get started:
Curate your inner world to create your outer world
You are the master of your reality if you can shape and control your world through your mindset, thoughts, and feelings. It is crucial to protect and train your mind by carefully selecting your associations, content, and environments to match the experiences and outcomes you desire. Your beliefs and attitudes significantly impact how you perceive the world and your role within it. For instance, a person with a positive, growth mindset embraces possibilities and adaptability, turning obstacles into opportunities and viewing challenges as learning experiences. This mindset allows you to navigate life with resilience and creativity. Additionally, it is important to consciously cultivate high vibrational thoughts and feelings to attract people, experiences, and opportunities that resonate at that higher level. Lastly, carefully choosing who has proximity to you is essential. As Jim Rohn said, "You are the five people you spend the most time with."
Harness your brain’s magic filter
The Reticular Activating System (RAS), a network of nerves at the brainstem, filters out extraneous information and allows essential data to reach your consciousness, determining what you pay attention to. The RAS seeks information and opportunities that align with your beliefs and focuses, filtering the world according to the parameters you set. For example, if you believe you are poor at public speaking, this belief can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if you consider yourself a visionary innovator, your actions are likely to reflect that. By influencing what you notice and how you behave, the RAS plays a crucial role in shaping your reality. This is why when you're looking to buy a new red car, you tend to see red cars everywhere, because your brain is focused on it. This underscores the importance of being aware of and intentional about your thoughts, beliefs, and desires to make them work for you, not against you.
Test the “brules”
Most people live confined by social norms, arbitrary rules, and rigid societal structures, not realizing that the world is malleable. It's crucial to see through these barriers, or "veils," that obscure your vision and prevent you from recognizing the vast possibilities that lie beyond. Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mindvalley, coined the term "brules" (bullshit rules) to describe these self-imposed limitations and societal norms that hinder personal growth, impact, and true happiness. These “brules” are often unexamined beliefs inherited from culture, family, or education systems, shaping our behaviors and decisions without our realizing it. There’s an old parable that illustrates this concept. A baby elephant, tied to a tree with a rope, remains conditioned to believe it cannot break free, even as it becomes an adult elephant, who clearly has the strength to escape. Similarly, a famous experiment with sand fleas showed that after being confined to a jar with a lid, they learned to jump just below the lid's height. Even when the lid was removed, they continued to jump at the same height. Sadly their offspring, born without restrictions, did the same. This is a reminder not to import the limitations of others. Regardless of whether they are real or imagined, they don’t apply to you. By recognizing and challenging these false constraints, you can unlock new possibilities and live a more liberated, fulfilling, and expansive life.
Transcend convention
If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get what everyone else gets. Stepping outside conventional norms, to deviate from how things “should” be done is crucial for gaining a unique perspective. One reason Steve Jobs was able to revolutionize multiple industries, including personal computing, animation, music, and mobile phones was because he defied the conventional wisdom of focusing on market research and customer feedback. Instead, he emphasized intuitive design, user experience, and integrated ecosystems, and as a result, transformed the technology landscape and consumer behavior. Similarly, Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix transformed the entertainment industry with online streaming by moving away from the traditional DVD rental model to a subscription-based streaming service at a time when it wasn’t a thing, and internet infrastructure was not fully developed for it. Netflix's success has led to a seismic shift in how content is consumed, influencing the rise of on-demand media and changing the business models of traditional film and television industries.
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