You might be familiar with the acronym WYSIWYG. It comes from “what you see is what you get” and it’s used in computer editing software. It means that the actual output of your edited file will match precisely what you see on the screen.
It is also used in a more metaphorical way, for instance when a certain product is on sale, or when you try to describe a certain situation. When you use the term WYSIWYG in such a context, it means the product, or the situation, are precisely as described, with no hidden flaws, or agendas.
Our world works mainly based on the WYSIWYG principle, meaning we tend to believe that reality is exactly how we see it and we get exactly what we see. Which, in my humble opinion, is wrong.
What we actually get is what we choose.
There is no unique reality, equal for all. There’s nothing intrinsically “there”, emitting the same meaning towards all of us. There is indeed a certain layer of physical events, like colors, temperature and sound, but on top of that layer, everything is created by our own interpretation. We don’t perceive the same colors (like color blind people could testify) and we react differently to the same temperature and some of us can hear some sounds, while others can’t.
We’re all unique. We all see the world in our own way. And we literally carry our own realities in our mind.
Why is this important?
Because choice. What shapes your reality is not what you get, what is offered, what comes your way. But what you do with it.
Life can serve you a bad hand every once in a while, but, as all great poker players will tell you, neither a good or a bad hand will define you. How you play that hand will.
You may not get what you want all the time, but you can always choose to be satisfied with what you get.
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash
