Purpose- Our biggest curiosity

• 1.       What Are You Willing to fight for? ...

• What Did Your 8-Year-Old Self Love Do? ...
• What Makes You Forget to Eat? ...
• How Are You Going to Save the World? ...
• If You Knew You Were Going to leave this world One Year from Today, What Would You Do and How Would You Want to be Remember

These are questions I borrowed from ‘happify me’, but they set a tone for my next week’s edition, on Purpose and at the same time introduce an element of curiosity. I will also shed some more light on it in my Instagram live on November 2 @5pm.

I was explaining to my son the concept of six thinking hats and I am sure all of them are being worn by one by someone or the other in this context also. Some would be wearing the white hats to look for facts, others would look forward to it with their yellow hats, some else will just be tired of my ranting laced with a red hat, and a few  adorning a green hat would find a way to make it more appealing and creative. A few of my friends, I am sure in atypical style will be critically analyzing it with their black hats playing the devil’s advocate and me with my blue -hat will ensure that being able to truly provide food for thought for everyone.

So Curious or confused, and that is what the feeling we work with quintessentially, to begin with. Every time I start my weekly issue, I try and answer what this should entail and give it my perspective. With my first blog, I set a tone for the coming week, introducing the subject and inviting people for my first Insta Live. I was very excited and my kids supported me like a rock.

I looked at curiosity as an enabler in my second blog, helping us overcome challenge and fear in our minds. Fear and Curiosity go hand in hand, a phenomenon I realized as part of my Live Chat. The curiosity builds up but questions stop because of fear of judgment but then we look for support and push ourselves.

My experience with expressing with my curiosity has often landed me in trouble. People have been upset. My daughter very innocently asked her friend who had visited along with her mother to our house, “I have only called you. Why did you bring you, mother?”  Her friend complained to her mother and they left immediately after. I wasn’t sure what to tell my daughter, not to ask or ask properly. For me, it was an innocent query, but people choose to get offended that is one reason, social niceties, evades me. A protocol sometimes which dictates common sense that is open to interpretation.

The reason for me picking out purpose was the extent curiosity in my blog about far-reaching curiosity. A sense of purpose gives completion to curiosity. I discussed this along with what stops us from being curious and role of wisdom.

This week was different and difficult. I was curious how much I can push myself. I am travelling and often was working with expectations that I did not know how to keep it. The writing was my saviour in this situation. On the most difficult day s, like today so far, I knew the curiosity of being able to complete on not was giving me a sense of purpose.

Curiosity keeps someone alive and purpose gives them a reason or energy to do so. Let us then together take a plunge into the next week’s edition of Purpose.

Curiosity

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGzlWuiHHb6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

What-if or I wish- better version of Curiosity

 In the morning I told my sister and kids. I am going to write about what if, as a version of curiosity. I was thinking of aligning it with 'I wish'. I like discussing what I write with my family, as it gives me a perspective, in this case, a different one. According to them, what if is curiosity but I wish? Is I wish a version of curiosity. So let us figure it out. 

All curiosities start with what if? What if Earth was round, and Viola. What if, humans walked on the moon. Been there. What if we were able to see inside the human body? May be someone unwillingly did ask somewhere quite recently, what if all humans were made to sit at home and here we are.

Someone very wisely once said, be careful what you wish for, it just might come true. That is the power of What if? It can take you to the moon and back and if you go overboard, might leave you there.

All through the week, I have been talking about the power of What if, how it leads to new horizons s and makes us go for better things in life. But I wish, though not a bad thought contained within itself has the potential of creating frustration and depression. Students preparing for entrance or PhD are some examples of it. They constantly wish to achieve their goals and yet work on the what-if premise visualizing all the time what success would look like for them. 

This constant play of emotions can both be motivating and overwhelming. It is similar for an entrepreneur, a professional or any other human being who exists. What worries me as an individual is the component of regrets in the I wish scenario. Life is made up of opportunities and also some missed opportunities. I wish cannot just be about focusing on them, it should be about What if. What if, I grasp the next one and just make it work. or what if I learn from my previous missed opportunities and keep pushing myself till the next one. Use the What-if tool to your advantage. 

Because it's different. 

Did Curiosity really kill the cat?

 

The original saying that came around was ‘Care killed the cat’ which subsequently changed to curiosity. Originally the sentiment was to not worry so much so as to lead oneself to death and why cat, because the cat was symbolic of most indifferent, cautious creatures connected with humans.

We have been using it for ages now as per convenience despite the knowledge that curiosity, intellectual or scientific, once satisfied will help us achieve greater heights. Curiosity is not dangerous per se. However, just like any other emotion, there are enough and more miscreants in the world to misdirect our curiosity

Grapevine in office and gossip in daily life is enough to ruin a person’s life. Curiosity if manifested negatively can make someone’s life living hell. Bullying, trolling, fake news can all be attributed to curiosity. How one may ask?

Wikipedia defines curiosity as an emotion. An emotion if gone unchecked can wreak havoc into people’s mind. My sister, Aparna Dwivedi, who is a veteran journalist, now often talks about new age journalism, journalism which feeds on curiosities of people and social media has made it not just real-time but also highly interactive. People can interact with the news as it happens, and in some ways contribute towards making it. They are no longer just a recipient.  They graduated from citizens to creators of news. That is the power of curiosity.

In a WhatsApp group yesterday, someone asked for a mythological weapon that if in the hand of the right person can manifest its holder as a saviour but in wrong hands can become destructive for the world. That my friend is information and information comes to those who are curious. Thus the intent behind curiosity has for ages been the driving force behind the death of the cat.

The trick behind not letting curiosity get better of us is wisdom. We are all forever curious, however, to keep our curiosity in check we can identify some people who can be our sounding board, can keep us grounded and level headed.

Even when harming a cat is not the intent, one has to ensure that whatever information is sought for is done with wisdom and care. 

Far-reaching Curiosity

 

My son gets annoyed when confronted with the question of what lies ahead. At 42 years my goals are still unclear. I have been writing blogs for 75 days now and sometimes I ask myself and a few of my close friends, to what end?  

As an adult, this is one thing that gets me intrigued? All through my life, I have felt that constant battle in mind, my purpose? What am I doing here? What is my purpose in life? Why do I do what I do? Why does anyone do what they do? What makes some choices better?

I love seeing people ask questions. The more enlightened the group, the more questions they ask. Mario Livio in his talk about curiosity compared the graph of knowledge as some kind of inverted bell. The less you know the less is the curiosity which grows with the knowledge level and when you have acquired all the knowledge there is, the hunger for knowledge decreases.

There is another aspect to lack of curiosity that I think leads to decreasing trends. I think the same can be attributed to exasperation. Somewhere along this knowledge curve, we tend to get bored or just bogged down by day to day necessities to go out searching for livelihood or in preparation for it.

Another reason why people stopped asking questions because they felt not many people will have answers to it or will judge them for it. But technology has surprised us. People have not stopped being curious. They have just channelized it elsewhere. Quora, Brainly, Google, everything website is a working proof of dealing with curiosities. When I searched for ‘website to ask questions anonymously’, it came back with a list of 13 websites. Answering questions is tantamount to helping people these days especially when its accessible to all.

I am not discussing the dangers attached to having all questions answered because I strongly believe that they open a plentitude of opportunities and not all of them offer positive growth. Some of them offer misinformation and are dangerous. Having this said, I am still hopeful that the capacity of people to reach out should only be harnessed rather than stopped. People need answers and we live in a world now where it is possible to get them.

Let us give our children and even ourselves opportunity to look for answers. Do not settle till you find one which will help you create a win-win situation.

Does curiosity help?

-          

How many time have we snubbed a child or been snubbed ourselves for asking questions. I remember being shut down, quite literally, by my manager when I was asking a question in staff meetings. Another manager categorically told me to stop questioning when I wasn’t comfortable with his decision to hire certain people.

 I remember working with an organization which continuously complained about ineffective staff meetings. They complained about their staff members not contributing. What they failed to realize is the extent to which management went to discourage questioning from employees and make it obvious. Employees were ridiculed and laughed at for making a suggestion, new ideas were thrashed and questions belittled. It was no wonder that only a few could survive in that culture and the organization suffered high employee turnover.

What does an ideal situation entail under the circumstances? Would the freedom to ask a question make a difference?

• ·         Given the scenario that questions were discouraged or ridiculed, if the opposite were true, then managers and team members would take initiatives to make people safe to ask questions. – Building trust and confidence
• ·         To invite new ideas where employees would be encouraged to think outside the box and try for unconventional thinking and be encouraged to do so- Initiative and strategic thinking
• ·         A culture can be built by consciously aiming to be open  and supportive. No individual, team or organization is above error but to build a culture of learning from a mistake is what helps people will ask questions without fear.

Somewhere while growing up we are made to believe that asking question is a sign of weakness. Children are also moulded in a similar format. Someone once observed that children have an innate quality to ask 200 to 300 questions per day but by the time they reach adulthood, this reduces to about six questions per day. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose close to 190+ questions per day. Is it not interesting that we stop asking questions for the fear of being judged or for the fear of being misinterpreted?

If organizations can take away this fear from individuals then they can unlock untapped potentials of their employees. Coming back to question what difference will curiosity make to the organization? An organization with a safe, learning culture where strategic thinking is encouraged, will have the support of its employees in its growth and development. 

Curiosity- the Enabler

My curiosity led to me learn more about astrophysicist Mario  Livio, and his book, “Why? What makes us curious?” He spoke about the need to talk about curiosity more among many things. This resonates with me and that is why I started my first live on Instagram on this topic.

One of the foremost things I thought was about curiosity and fear. It was more an epiphany. Despite the fact that I had been a curious individual since birth, not all my questions were encouraged. Mario in one of his TED talk says, ‘how do you educate children? You make them curios.’ But what does one do when curiosity is met with reservations  or frustration. Chances are we will grow up to hesitate to ask question for the fear of reprimand.

Let us look at some scientific evidence here. With the advent of technology, we are able to see which sections of our brain are affected by curiosity. It was later proved that curiosity lights up same area of brain as that of hunger and once the curiosity is answered or satisfied, the area of pleasure lights up. 

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious”- Albert Einstein

However curiosity is as much a burden as it is a power. I mentioned about fear associated with curiosity. One can never get over the fear of not knowing enough. This is what our education system counts upon.  The scope of interest is not recognized because the answer to linking primary level education with future is either absent or broken. The new education system has recognized, some of the key requirements, but it still has a long road to cover.

Building curiosity is the foundation for imparting education. Unless we are curious about something chances are we will not be interested. History as a subject is fascinating however can prove to be excruciating if presented in a cumbersome manner. But storytelling can be a decisive tool in teaching history.

We are now facing a different challenge. Technology makes getting answers easy. However, the spirit of seeking them is now a different ballgame altogether. Seeking is a norm, learning not so much. I am curious if that is a part of this discussion or another. May be  another. Changing face of curiosity. 

Till then be curious, keep questioning and never stop seeking. 

Curious about Curiosity

 

Curiosity killed the cat or did it find an ancient oasis on Mars.

One is a phrase from 19^th a century and the other is NASA’s guide to the history of Mars and its possibility to support life and within this statement it carries the potential to help us understand the world’s view on knowledge.

The phrase, however, is incomplete. The phrase which started out as Care killed the cat somewhere finding its way to curiosity, but in 1912 version the phrase was completed

“Curiosity killed the cat,

But satisfaction brought it back."

That is precisely the reason why I wanted to study curiosity to study what prevails after; confusion or satisfaction, frustration or exhilaration.   

While talking to students sometimes, I feel they are so focused on the now that they fail to see the big picture or they don’t even want to see it. Who has the time to want to look at the sky when things closer to the earth are wreaking havoc in each and every life?

Sometimes our systems discourage us from being curious, wanting us to follow protocols because those are easy to manage. Asking too many questions have always landed people in an uncomfortable position.

However asking questions, making peace with discomfort and having the courage to be curious is the first step in making our world a better place to live in. In this edition, I will talk about curiosity and its role in our life. How it makes an impact on our growth and how to use it effectively to further progress ourselves and challenge the status quo.

Let me know your thoughts about curiosity. I will be doing a 20 min session on curiosity on Monday, October 26th @5pm from Instagram live. My Instagram handle is @dwivedinupur. Do login and find out more about the topic. You can also ask on the topic.

Be curious. Ask Away…

See you at @Dwivedinupur

                                                                                                                                             

Announcement

 

Perception- My view of world

                                           

 

 A concept close to my heart, Perception is my personal favourite. I have always been enamoured with its role in relationships, in everyday life and in exchanges in a broader context. It touches everything as an intrinsic part of human exchange and yet we are not aware of it enough. Today while sitting with my nephew, we spoke about his preparations for engineering entrance. It was intriguing to see how he converses with himself and the world. A promising young man, he is very aware of how he is using his perceptions to make his reality. ‘I will not give excuses’, only a promising self-aware person can say this.

That is why my Friday’s blog focused on time and its effects on perception, my premise being if experience and knowledge help in forming perceptions, there should be a strong case that more experience or knowledge will help in changing perception. However, a friend of mine felt otherwise. According to him, one-off experiences cannot change perception. He is right, and that is why consistency and patience are the main inputs to deal with a long set belief system.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/time-perception.html

My Thursday’s blog was trying to get an inside view of the consumer mindset. What makes a buyer take a certain product and shy away from certain others? I  also discussed it in context with an immediate environment like that of family and physical infrastructure. Life doesn’t come in boxes and therefore we should stop viewing it as such. Everything is interconnected and is correlated with my decision. How I perceive my societal status today will largely impact on buying decisions I make or environment consciousness of fitness consciousness will make an impact on my lifestyles and thereby purchase decision. Therefore if you need marketers to impact the perception of the consumer then they will need to align their pitch with the needs of customers.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/perception-and-purchase-decision.html

As an HR professional, 'perception' was my biggest learning. I am not sure I learned how to master it but my keen observation skills, helped me to learn cues about people that gave away their perceptions. Most of the HR conflicts can be summarized in ‘he said she said’ scenario. Knowing perception helped.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/perception-at-work.html

In Perception- a necessity, I discuss the role of perception as an essential, a means to help us bring closer to reality. I speak about children and the role of perception to mould their future. While speaking about my nephew, I realized one more thing today. Just as perception about children is set in an adult’s mind, perception about adults is also set in children’s mind. As an afterthought, as an adult, we often attempt to be right irrespective of the cost of that attempt. I hope I do not undertake such an attempt while speaking to my children.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/perception-necessity.html

In this blog I touch upon the difference between cognition and perception. Perception is not reality but our version of reality, a version that suits our needs and mindset then. I also asked this question in one of the groups on Neuroscience and got about 100 plus responses. However, the best response for me was cognition is raw data and perception is processed data. It might not be exactly true but definitely a start for simple.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/perception-version-of-reality.html

This the blog was more an explanation of why I delved into the topic. It meted out my experiences, my perceptions and my views on the subject, basically a prequel to the coming sequel.

https://nupurdwivedipandey.blogspot.com/2020/10/perception-at-play.html  

Through the week we have established that perception is essentially a play of experiences based on our sensory input. It is both personal and collective where on one hand it is experiential and on it is passed on to us in form of traditions and customs.  The prospect of changing perceptions is what I count on, in fact, all systems do.

Perceptions make us, and we are ever-evolving. By extension, perceptions are ever-evolving.

Time & Perception

 

I have been on a steep learning curve since I started writing but my biggest learning is the meaning of perception. The research on this topic has not only given clarity on this issue but also clarified many doubts about my previous issues. What makes me sensitive, what helps me cope, how do I learn and what determines my success.

We all are subject to perceptions, ours and others. However, the most difficult ones are changing one. Some times in keeping with changing era, people want to keep themselves up to date with the new expectation of the world.

An interesting incident someone shared was when a family contracted corona and all except their 18-year daughter was left to manage the household. In absence of any learning of how to cook, the family survived on Maggie for first 2 days till the neighbours came to the aid. Another incidence is closer home where three members of my extended family including all females contracted the disease and the eldest son managed the healthiest food customized not only for patients but also for his grandparents. A perception broken here was girl should know cooking and boy will struggle. Maybe they both struggled and yet both of them found a way out, and end of it that is what matters.

Perceptions like these are formed with experiences and choices people make and these can be changed with time and that is the beauty of it. It is open to change and makes us hopeful about the future.

That is the power of perception and time. Its impermanence.

Perception and Purchase Decision

Scenario 1

I walk into a departmental store and as I walk towards the laundry aisle the staff pops out of nowhere to introduce me to this new product called, ‘Wishwash washing powder’. They offer me a hefty discount and assure me cleanliness like never before. My reaction is thanks but no thanks. My sister on the other hand does try new brands.

I have always been curious about the role of perceptions in consumer behaviour. Take any advertisement for that matter. Advertisements aim at influencing human behaviour to make a purchase decision. My brother who was into media buying shared interesting information some years back. He mentioned that most of the advertisements are addressed to capture the attention of children, the reason he cited was that while making purchase decisions, children play a huge role.

Now that I have children of my own, I quite identify with that statement. Most of my life decisions and not just limited to purchase is around children and what will work for them, what will benefit them, what will suit them and what will enhance them. The fact that I buy ‘Wishwash’ or not also is determined by that very factor.

What is driving my decision here?

My knowledge and experience that the current brand I use is safe and my belief that something new could be risky. The obvious being brand and value for money. I also accept that usage of a certain brand can be seen as a cognitive bias. My sister, however, seems to be rather objectively dealing with the situation and believes in making a perception based on newfound experience. Therefore even though both of us are going with the same agenda, one is working with the brand association- a perception which is biased given prior experience and the other one is open to objectively studying it to reach to a conclusion.

Scenario 2

Come festivals and stores go crazy with on Sale marketing. I normally avoid walking into stores on those days but did happen to visit one last year. It was crowded. It seemed people were buying clothes in bulk and maybe spending more than they originally intended to. The place hardly has a place to stand, and trial rooms were forever busy. Even though I had gone with the intention to purchase, I came out empty-handed.  I did see people carrying two to three bags of clothing.

What is driving my decision here?

I came across the concept of Loss aversion which means avoiding the possibility of losing what we want. Lot of decisions during the sale are made keeping this in mind. Discounts, offers, etc are thrown people’s way to create a delusion of the potential loss. There are a lot of buyers including myself who don’t want to spend time in endless queues or billing lines for the stuff that sometimes companies seem to be simply dispensing to get the new stock at original cost. On second thoughts, that could be a cognitive bias.

 There are a lot of perceptions at play. Too costly, too cheap, too complicated, too simple, not for our community, religious bias, my friend has its bias, one of its kind preferences, In-group bias, the world is full of them.  All of these affect our purchase decision and the marketers know how to leverage them.

Having this said, should it stop us taking decisions based on our perceptions? It is like saying should we stop breathing just because the air is polluted. Therefore no, just being aware will be a good idea, just like I realized my bias about the sale. Just as marketers leverage our perceptional biases we should be aware of our own and how it affects us. 

Be aware of your perceptions and how they are affecting your daily decisions. That is the first step in living a balanced life. 

Perception at Work

 

One of my most interesting experiences of rolling out performance management systems for organizations and one of the key learning from those times was the role of perception. To cite a classic example here, the success of performance management system largely depended on how the organization viewed it. Some organization viewed it as a chore, a tick mark; others were more enamoured by it. They needed it to enhance the glamour quotient, to showcase that they had HR processes in place, yet others used it as a defence mechanism to justify their actions. With changing times some also viewed it as a means to develop employees but it wasn’t until recently that the role of performance management is seen as that of a strategic enabler.

The result and implementation of the process relied heavily upon how it was perceived. This is a universal phenomenon. It is an interesting journey to reminisce.  Go back to your first day on your first job. Your thought process starts well before you enter your office. It is based on your previous experience, the information about the organization, the expectation from the new firm, and the people you are going to meet. You walk in on the first day and are met with hostility and anger. You immediately start to dissect what is wrong with your approach; you question your choice of clothes, your words or even your role at that time.

What kind of perception is at work here? This is called fundamental attribution error. You at your end are attributing it yourself whereas; it is something that happened that day. What you perceive as hostility is simple indifference, but since it is not as per your expectation of a warm welcome, you feel vulnerable.

Another classic example is the communication gap leading to performance bias. I have often in my experience seen different types of employees. One who work and don’t communicate, second who don’t work and only communicate, third who both work and communicate and fourth who neither work nor communicate and still manage to exist in the organization. Personally, I feel the third category is by far the most productive for the organization as they know and can work with the brasses to enhance their position. However, the most mystical category is the one which knows how to exist. They are the ones who work around perceptions finding their ways into the support structures of managers. This can be referred to as Ingroup bias, where chosen few are beyond reproach.

Recruitment, Retention, Layoffs, everything is laced with aftereffects of perception. A famous recruitment question is to tell me something about yourself. I remember being part of a panel when this question was asked. I often wondered what is it that we are expecting to infer from this question. As a panellist, I wasn’t trained in that. I learned on the job. Agreed that sometimes we need different perceptions but at others, it does defeat the purpose. Stereotypes often used to present themselves with questions when a woman was asked a question about marriage and family planning and people were laughed at for their communication skills vis-à-vis for a technical profile.

But the situation isn’t as grim as it may seem. As I mentioned perceptions that hinder us also make us stronger. An organization needs to channelize employee perception. Employees need to feel a part; they need to belong and heard. If the organization is giving them opportunities to do that then they feel important. The vulnerability, insecurity and anxiety in employees around workplace slowly convert into confidence, buoyancy and enthusiasm.  

 So if you want to deal with workplace perception, make employees feel heard. 

Perception- A Necessity

                                     

I have been confused about what to write today and this is not because I don’t know what to say but more because I have so much to say. A friend, who I hadn’t spoken to in so many days, finally liked my last post. The concept of perception intrigued him. Another asked me if I thought it had something to do with an expression of hope.  

Therefore I decided to start from the beginning, i.e. when a child is born. I found a study according to which a child in her first three months sees 15 faces per hour which comes down to 6 faces per hour by the time a child is 1 year. Why it is relevant, is it because of the frequency of visits a newborn gets or need for assistance. How will that affect the perception of a child who has no idea of the world?

The study was an initiative developed with support from the National Science Foundation. Teachers use various ways to help children develop their sight, smell, and other senses. I saw a video of a nursery where a teacher was guiding a toddler to play blocks. There were colours, shapes, and a song that the teacher was singing very softly to encourage the child. 

Another video and a personal favourite of mine are that of a doctor administering a vaccine to a child. Even though he knows that it will cause the child pain, he creates an atmosphere of fun with an action song, bubbles, and just when the child is busy he goes ahead and gives the injections. The child never feels the pain.

In both these videos, the reactions of two adults made a lot of difference to those children at that moment. if the teacher was impatient or upset or the doctor indifferent, the story would have resulted in two unhappy and scared children. Would it have affected their perceptions, I am not sure, but it definitely affects the child’s willingness to communicate with an adult.

Our perception of the world is mostly a result of our experience of childhood. How we have been treated or how we see others being treated make us the person we are. Children soak in everything, as the ability to filter out doesn’t really exist.

It is only as we grow older we become equipped with the art of selective processing. In fact, I imagine the process of moving from taking everything in to leaving something out is liberating and that is the phase where most of us are get into altercations with our stubborn teenagers.  Children would suddenly realize that they don’t ‘have to’ listen to everything, and they don’t ‘have to’ adhere to rules and that they have questions that their parents or immediate family do not have answers to.

Imagine the change in perception then. Psychologically it will be a huge shift. From seeing the elders in an immediate circle as a prime authority, they move to question their authenticity. The feeling could also lead to a sense of betrayal if parents insist of living up to the sham of know all mindset or I know what is right for you mindset or worse still, I am right and you are the wrong mindset.

The shift is perception is natural and required. It is for parents to realize that they need to keep up rather than offering a challenge to the children to make them fall in line with something they are not convinced with.

Creating communication channels and keeping them open is the only way for parents to keep up with changing perceptions of the children. This by extension also applies to teachers, schools and society at large. Shutting them off will only give rise to mental health issues a challenge that we don't want our children to face.

It is a good idea to welcome all perceptions, old an new, negative or positive and then work with the thought process. Power of suggestion is by far the strongest tool in parent's arsenal. 

Perception- A version of Reality

 

One of my favourite learning in life is, the fight is never between right and wrong. The fight is always between my right versus your right, which is what brings me to our definition of perception- in very simple terms, is the ability to make sense of the world.

As head of the HR department in an organization, I used to have my team stressed about dissatisfied employees and how they were unhappy with the work situation. They were approached by employees across organization talking about how frustrated they felt, and how unhappy they were, sometimes with their managers and at other times with peers or sometimes generally about the work scenario. Given the role of HR, my team used to lend them an ear, but sometimes it used to get them overwhelmed. After a series of steps that we could take to allay some of the concerns, we realized that not all problems required solution at least from us. So we started going back to them with a standard question, ‘I understand that you are frustrated and we empathize but do you want us to do something about it’. More often than not employees answered in a negative. My team came back saying that now they feel a sense of closure but were not sure of the reason why?

What they perceived to be a problem was only sometime a need to talk, or small talk or even gossip, a need to exchange information.

This clearly is a case of mistaken perception, to perceive something which is not there. We constantly live in the world on mistaken perceptions, sometimes as a way to understand the world and at others to justify our actions. Amita Parwal, Communication coach stressed on the need for unbiased perception, which led me to think about the role of objectivity of perception and furthermore what is not perception?

Going back to the definition of perception it is the sensory input which is then processed based on our knowledge and experiences. In that context can we say are all sensory inputs convert to perception.

The answer is No. The sound of a clock ticking or traffic, is a sensory input but often we do not convert it into perception because somewhere we get used to it. This process is known as sensory adaptations and is important for us to go through the everyday humdrum of life. Imagine being perceptible to every sound or movement, our brain will be on an overload mode all the time. Sensory Adaptations is our brain's ways of tuning out unnecessary information.

The second and more important point I found about perception is that perception is not reality. Reality is facts. Perceptions are interpretations of facts for our convenience. To be it crudely it is more a distorted version of reality to suit our needs at any given point of time.

2020 made us especially susceptible to perceptions. We were glued to television, internet, videos, to see any signs of improvement. We wanted things to improve and were prone to panic and fear. We held on to every ray of hope that promised us respite. We got inspired as we perspired and yet at the end, we managed to emerge winners. Despite the initial shock, we marched on and that is the power of perception. On one hand, perception is something that makes us weak,  but at the same time, it makes us persevere.  

So let me ask this, what's your perception about tomorrow?

Perception at play!

 

 

‘Sudha Murthy called 'cattle class'

‘Tanishq Ekatvam Deleted Controversial Ad Haters don’t want to see’

‘How will you manage your work now that you have a small child at home?’

‘Working from home is an opportunity to connect with family’

‘This place reminds me of Home’

These are news items, statement, bias and expressions which express either a perception of a person/community or the impact of that perception in general.  The way I see Perception is the outcome of what we sense vis-à-vis what we have learned and experienced. So in a way perception is given. It is like we see a movie we like it. Another movie releases with the same cast. What is our first reaction going to be, we will look forward to it. Bahubali, Terminator, Avengers, are all but perceptions converted to successes on box office.

Share Market, Educational Institutions, Corporate Industry, Social sector, Politics, right down to you and me work on the perception factor. Therefore all our efforts in life are to learn to make people perceive positively about us. There is another aspect and a rather unfortunate one. Sometimes efforts are not meant to create positive notions. More a bad one. Terror outfits and even governments sometimes strive to create a negative perception in people’s mind, one that instils fear and hatred.

Perceptions are a way of life. They give us a unique perspective of the world and ourselves. Even nature, colour and problems are perceived differently. So what do we understand by this

1.       Perception is Internal

2.      Perception is collective

3.      Perception is experiential

4.      Perception can be changed?

Can perception be changed? Women’s Right to vote, Civil Rights movement, our independence struggle, environmental change movement are all a sign of people changing their perceptions to accept what is new and what should be done.

Perception is your reflection on people and as you must keep yourself clean one needs to ensure that they are using the right object to reflect. A wrong object can make them feel misunderstood, closing off even before starting.

In this weekly issue, we will approach at a perception by how you and I perceive it and will also analyse the role of technology in this perceptive world. Interesting and intriguing as it may sound, we will also find how we have found ourselves a beneficiary or victim of perception. Looking forward to one of my favourite issues to discuss.