What filter is colouring your world?
Hello smart human!
When I was teaching creative photography, this was one of my favourite assignments to get people out of their comfort zone.
I'd ask them to look for random transparent stuff in their house, bag, outside; and then to put it in front of their lens and take pictures through whatever it was they found.
It works well with glass, blue plastic bags, bottles - and it can be a great way to look at the world with fresh eyes.
Here's a look at some of my favourite plants through the pink cover of a storage box:
By adding an extra layer between you and the world you get to observe how that filter changes everything.
(Pictured: some of my beloved studio plants seen through the cover of a pink storage box)
It's a fun, creative exercises that opens your mind.
But it's also a great illustration of how our brain works.
We see everything through a massive filter.
Our brain is simply incapable of processing all the information our senses provide (and even if it could there still wouldn't be a 1-on-1 correlation with reality).
When we think we see something, it's actually our brain 'guessing' what we see from a limited amount of data input, using past experience.
We filter the world to fit our brain. Or, in other ways:
"We see things not as they are, but as WE are." (if you're wondering about the origins of this quote: it's complicated - and a beautiful lesson in how misattributed quotes can create an entire alternate reality).
So if we don't like what we see, should we change the things we look at?
Sometimes. But it's usually kind of complicated.
It's much easier to change the way we see them.
We may have a current filter that makes everything blurred, difficult, depressing.
A filter that doesn't allow us to see what is possible - or what we're capable of.
And we can then make the mistake of concluding that 'this is just how things are'.
It's not.
There's just a big fat filter between you and reality that is making things harder than they should be.
A layer between you and the world, which is created by your thoughts and thought patterns.
Can you completely get rid of that layer?
No. It's how your hardware is set up. There will always be a filter.
Can you change it for a layer that creates a better life for you?
One. Hundred. Percent.
So this weekend I want you to play with this.
Start simple, with this playful exercise: taking pictures through transparent objects. See how that changes your perspective.
And then ask yourself: what is currently between me and the world?
How is my perception coloured?
A great way to figure this out is answering questions like these:
What do I expect to happen tomorrow?
What do I expect from other people?
What do I allow myself to dream?
What do I NOT allow myself to dream?
What do I assume the rest of this year will be like?
What do I think the result of this project will be?
Do an inventory of your assumptions and expectations.
And then think of someone you really admire. Who, according to you, pretty much has their shit together.
What do they assume about the world?
What would their list look like?
How is it different from yours?
Now you've got some idea of what your filter looks like - and how it could be different.
And you can start questioning your assumptions and expectations - to slowly dissolve that filter and replace it with something more fun.
If this is something you're ready for, I want to invite you to work with me one-on-one to create an outlook on the world that works for you. Contact me for a free first exploratory session.
As Alan Kay says: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
You can totally reinvent the way your mind works - so you can create a different future.
Have an inspired weekend!
Else a.k.a. Coach Kramer