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This article was originally published here.
Most entrepreneurs assume that their biggest challenge is discipline.
Like if we could just be more consistentâŠ
More focusedâŠ
More confidentâŠ
Then everything would stabilize and our businesses would run like well oiled machines.
But that assumption around discipline (or whatever it is for you) is actually hiding a deeper issue that very few people ever stop to examine.
And thatâs our perception.
Because letâs face it, a lack of discipline is rarely the root cause for anyone who is willing to start a business,
And itâs our perception thatâs driving that very assessment of trying to figure out whatâs ânot working well,â
Itâs our perception that shapes our reality, and every decision we make as leaders,
But sometimes itâs skewed because weâre stuck in patterns that arenât helpful.
Thereâs an invisible layer quietly shaping our decisions every day.
Every day weâre interpreting signals⊠signals like:
A client message.
A slow week of sales.
A critical comment.
A competitorâs success claim.
A piece of feedback.
None of these events arrive with meaning attached to them.
Meaning is assigned by our perception.
And our perceptions arenât neutral.
They are shaped by:
past experiences
emotional charges
comparison dynamics
fear of loss
internal narratives about success and failure
the list goes onâŠ
This is why two people can experience the exact same situation and interpret it completely differently.
In fact, itâs nearly impossible for two people to experience the same situation similarly.
One might see a signal for adjustment,
While the other sees confirmation that everything is collapsing.
The difference is not intellectual,
The difference is we all have our highly individualized perceptions acting as a lens of interpretation,
And that lens can distort our view.
But letâs be clear - âdistortionâ doesnât mean someone is irrational,
It simply means the interpretation of the situation has been exaggerated in one direction.
As entrepreneurs we experience this in several common ways.
One distortion shows up as what I call - The Pedestal.
Someone elseâs success story becomes proof that youâre falling behind.
Their visibility feels larger than life.
Their certainty appears unshakable.
And suddenly your own work feels smaller than it actually is because your perception placed that âsuccessfulâ person on a pedestal which youâre now using as the lens for evaluation.
Another common distortion pulls us into the opposite direction - The Pit.
This is when a setback becomes proof that everything is failing.
One slow launch becomes a narrative about declining relevance.
Or a single piece of feedback becomes confirmation that your direction is wrong.
Neither of which has to be catastrophic, but your perception may make it out to be.
BTW - Hereâs a Hot Tip - when your language defaults to the extremes of âeverything vs. nothing,â âall or none,â or âalways and never,â terminology, thatâs a tell-tale sign that your perception is actively skewing your reality because those extremes are very rarely true.
Another very common distortion shows up as perceived âLoss.â
This comes into play when a decision starts to feel dangerous because the potential downside feels larger than it actually is.
The risk here is that as entrepreneurs weâre constantly weighing the pros and cons of every decision, and when you have a fear of loss, you hesitate in drawing a line in the sand around decisions like:
Raising prices.
Clarifying your positioning.
Defining your true target audience.
The perception of losing customers makes each of these actions feel risky, even when they are strategically sound,
But that fear of loss is amplified,
So you end up making emotional decisions instead of data-based decisions,
And your perception tricks you into thinking youâre being strategic and âmanagingâ your risk,
When in fact youâre being influenced by an unhelpful pattern.
This is why discipline alone rarely fixes the problem.
When our perception is distorted, discipline just amplifies the existing patterns and effort feels wasted.
So you - push harder - work longer - and attempt to overpower the discomfort,
But the underlying interpretation of reality hasnât changed,
So the pressure keeps increasing while clarity decreases.
And eventually thereâs a collapse in momentum,
But not because of a lack of discipline,
Itâs because a perception problem canât be solved with behavior.
Perception issues require a different approach.
Examining our perceptions requires something that isnât discussed often enough in entrepreneurial circles.
Humility.
And by humility, I donât mean lowering your expectations, thatâs not actually what humility is.
Humility in this context, is being willing to ask yourself a difficult question, and that is:
What if my interpretation of this situation isnât entirely accurate?
That question right there changes everything,
Because it opens the door to recalibration.
So instead of defending your perceptions, you begin examining them,
And when your perception around a situation stabilizes, your leadership stabilizes with it.
This is the work most entrepreneurs never realize they need to do.
Most business programs and advice focus on strategies, tactics, and productivity improvements,
But very little attention is given to the belief architecture shaping our perception.
Yet thatâs the architecture that is actually influencing:
how we interpret risk,
how we receive feedback,
How we process âsuccess and failure,â and
how our authority is expressed.
And when we examine our perceptions clearly - not under the cloud of shame or self-condemnation,
Those revelations influence our leadership more than anything else.
Because true clarity is not just about direction,
Itâs about our interpretation.
Two leaders can face the same reality, and one becomes reactive, while the other is steady.
Thatâs because facts donât drive our leadership, our interpretation of them does.
But, we do get to choose which direction we want to go once we understand the perceptions driving the behavior,
Which makes leadership feel calmer,
Decisions become steadier,
And execution becomes coherent.
Not because the external environment changed,
But because the interpretation of it did.
Which leads to a question worth asking yourself.
If youâve been feeling friction in your work lately, the most helpful question probably isnât:
Why canât I be more consistent?
Itâs more helpful to ask:
Whatâs shaping how Iâm perceiving and interpreting this situation?
Because once you understand the lens your perception is creating, the clearer you can make it.
The fact is, the way you interpret reality is the foundation for every decision you make,
So internal clarity is the real key to unlocking your power as the leader youâre meant to be.
This is the shift that changes everything, so you can trulyâŠ
Live your life on purpose!
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Crazy coincidence that I just wrote about this in my note earlier today. Great minds think alike!