That many aspects impact our human relations and ‘perception’ is important.

Perception is the recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based upon our memory.  In other words, it is the way you interpret data around you. The data may come from sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.

How we perceive is also based on our personality, attitude, knowledge, experiences, values which we have acquired over the years.  They somehow put things in a ‘box’.  Therefore, it becomes at times difficult to relate to others if ‘perceptual sets’ do not match.

It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

The challenge with perception in human relations is that we may not always understand someone else’s perception and/or assume their perception is our own. This is where disagreements and other communication issues can occur.

For example, if you perceive that your spouse is too focused on spending time with friends, your interactions with him/her will be based upon this perception. You may perceive him/her to be distant/disinterested in you. It could make you frustrated and short tempered.

At work as well; perceptions can also cause miscommunications. For example, you may perceive your coworker to be lazy because he always arrives to work at 9:15 a.m. and the start time is 9 a.m.

Suppose he has a differently abled child with a special need, and the school where he drops him/her doesn’t open until 9 a.m.? Perhaps he has already informed your human resources team of which you are unaware. This perception can be a dangerous one, since we don’t have all of the facts.

Remember, your perceptions are completely dependent on the facts you possess at that time.  It may not be complete and can be detrimental to your human relations.

Next time when you find it difficult to relate to others, just ask yourselves the question – Is it my perception or do I have complete facts?

Am I trying to fit a ’Square Peg’ in a ‘Round hole’?