Perception Illusion

The Perception Illusion

How do you measure success? As a business owner, what is it that you look to achieve in your business?

Sometimes people get frustrated when they see the success achieved by others, and they can’t understand why they aren’t getting the same outcome.

That is the perception illusion.

I want to explain two important things to be aware of when you perceive someone else’s success:

1.) Don’t be so hard on yourself

You have a perception of what someone else’s success looks like. But guess what, they might have a completely different perception of themselves.

For example, someone can say to me, “Lisa, that Facebook Live was so good, and you’re a natural on camera!” Yet, after that same Facebook Live, I could think to myself “ugh I wasn’t prepared and I rambled too much.” – THAT is the inner critic that resides inside of us, which is why I call it the perception illusion.

So if I think I didn’t do well, and you think I did awesome, who is right? That is the inner critic.

What people see of you may not be the truth, and guess what – how you see yourself may not be truthful either.  You know what you are capable of, but you are also your biggest critic, and when you are self-conscious that inner critic is MUCH louder.

Everyone has a different way of approaching their business, and it is normal to feel like you are capable of more. Most of us are built that way.

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Take the time and ask, “is this an illusion or is this feeling reality?” When you can ask yourself that question, you are more likely to see an unbiased perspective.

2.) Be careful what you believe about others

There are people saying things like: “let me teach you how make six figures, or, I’m going to show you how to make 500,000.” When I know for a fact, they haven’t even made that yet. They are trying to create that perception illusion of themselves.

Don’t let marketing messages play with he truth.

So how do you know? Make sure you look for signs of success. The thing about success is that it always leaves clues.

Take the time and go digging through their content, their social media, Google them! Double check to ensure that they aren’t just deliberately creating that perception illusion to suck you in.

Don’t ever let the perception illusion fool you, whether that may be thinking you’re not good enough, or believing a false perception that marketers portray.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you feel like you may have fallen susceptive of the perception illusion and how you plan on fixing that mindset. 

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11 thoughts on “The Perception Illusion”

  1. Excellent post Lisa! Shows how important it is for us to avoid hero worshiping. In the end we are all human beings. Here is something I learned a long time ago. “Never compare your insides with other people’s outsides”. Have a great day!

  2. Heather Chernofsky

    This came at a great time! I fall into doing this occasionally – comparing myself to others. I know I shouldn’t but I do. Now when I see myself going down that path, I stop and think how grateful I am for all I have accomplished.

    1. This is one of the things I try and do daily, as a coach and leader; I try and shine the light on what I see people do right. We all need encouragement and validation in life.

  3. Yes! It’s so easy to get caught up with what other people are doing, or doing things the ‘right’ way, that we forget to do things ‘our way’. Thanks Lisa, awesome post!

    1. I love learning best practices, but there is a fine line that comes with staying true to you and doing what others are doing just because.

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Lisa Larter Bio Image of Lisa x400

Lisa Larter

Founder and CEO of the Lisa Larter Group, master strategist, author, speaker, podcast host, social media expert, consultant, and business coach. Lisa inspires entrepreneurs and business owners to see the possibilities for their organizations when it comes to strategy. She uncomplicates modern marketing and creates (and implements) strategies for businesses that are guaranteed to increase visibility, inbound leads, and revenue.

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