The human mind is a fascinating machine, it signals the eye on what to focus on and how to perceive it. That is the automatic function, and sometimes there are glitches with that programming. We try to make sense of the world around us, and naturally assumptions and prejudice occur. It is easier to point the finger at someone else or simply judge someone based on a first impression. Misconceptions emerge from ignorance and pride: a superiority complex.
Self-image is the disposition people hold of how they see themselves amongst others. It is natural to be your own judge and knit pick your faults, and just as effortless to convince yourself that you have no imperfections and thwart any possible chance of empathy. To be honest with yourself, it is important to embrace who you are. Only you can realize that there will always be someone better and worse than yourself in a situation.
We are all flawed in one way or another because we are people; to think otherwise is foolish and naive. There are billions of factors that go into how one person looks at another: attitude, appearance, morals, commonalities, culture, and many more. Unintended biases stem from human differences and the prejudices that we don’t know we hold. Lady Gaga said it best in her song Born ThisWay, “mi amore vole fe yah” (love needs faith).
Not all people are what they appear to be and acknowledging the truth is the first step. The ability to answer the age old question of are people really selfish and evil lies within the hands of humanity. People can prove that they have the ability to love, and they must be able to see the good in others to make that happen. Kindness is a choice and in most cases selfishness tends to win over. The subconscious mind can be a funhouse mirror that projects illusions of views that may be entirely different than the reality.
“I like people who understand.
The type who aren’t quick to judge.
You can vent to them,
and labeling you will be the last thing on their mind.
They don’t believe rumors because
they know there are two sides to every story.
They give you a chance, before they judge you.
They get to know who you really are,
then have an opinion.
I like those people, REAL PEOPLE.”
—Unknown
Jumping to conclusions when profiling people only leads to harmful results. No one can ever truly know what someone is like until they get to know one another genuinely. People are complicated, and the projected image is not always displayed correctly. We must be willing to share feelings with ourselves and others to retrain our brains from making automatic judgements. No two people are the same and understanding one another is vital to the success of coexisting in a world of differences.