The past few weeks I have been reading two versions of our world affairs. I read about something in the Wall Street Journal and then visit the New York Times. There is a tendency to the right on one and the left on the other. Sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant. 

It got me thinking about what is reality? I like the definition…the total sum of all that exists, encompassing physical objects, events, and facts, both known and unknown, independent of human perception or belief. That’s a mouthful but think about it. In essence, it is what it is. Is it possible to even consider that?

We view our world through a variety of lenses. Our brain gets cooking when we see, hear, touch, smell or taste. Then it goes to the file drawer of past experiences, memory and our knowledge  to try to make sense out of things. Next we throw in our mood, expectations, fears to shape what we see or hear. Lastly we throw in our upbringing, cultural mores to arrive at a perception. 

It all sounds a little complex but it happens in seconds. We really don’t think about it but react one way or another. Each and every person on this planet does it differently. I wish we all understood how differently “like minded” people think. Society has put up a standard you have to adhere to in order to be a liberal or conservative, American or European. It is more individual than that. 

Part of the frustration today is the myriad of outlets that want to show us reality. As stated they all have a bias. Actually they want to show you the world through their lens, not yours. Pure unadulterated facts? Hard to find. 

In some ways it is good to deviate from reality. We set goals. We plan careers. We fall in love. We build ourselves up. This is the way we move forward, train hard or set goals. All well and good. But when those illusions we create, become delusions we are in trouble. We set unrealistic goals. We create this utopia that really isn’t there. 

Let’s go back to facts. It is great for me to work on my golf game. If I am an 18 handicap I want to be a 15, I beat balls and play with that goal in mind. I might get there but I will never be a scratch golfer. Parents face this reality when bringing up kids. The odds of your kid being a professional player are very slim. There are a few rocket scientists who are incubating right now but most will be content to be considered smart. 

Those unrealistic goals set you up for defeat. You become bitter. The world is against you. You blame everyone around you. It really is quite sad as people  spend their lives trying to reach the unattainable. It just ain’t going to happen. You don’t berate yourself but live with it. 

USA,USA! The chant is omnipresent in sports, business and wealth. The greatest military, the seat of business, innovation experts etc. We know what’s right. I find it amusing that Ukraine tried to approach us with their drone technology almost a year ago. We laughed and said no thanks. Who is laughing now? 

That’s not putting us down but by my realism I am deemed a traitor. Treasonous! Really? I am just an ordinary schmuck trying to understand this mess and figuring our a way to deal with it. 

Where do we go? First and foremost we learn a thing called humility. I have my perceptions of reality but my perceptions could be wrong. It takes a broad approach and says let’s look at a lot of different options. We tend to hang around and believe in experts who we agree with. Look outside your bubble. 

About 75% of us have noise in our brains. Some is supportive and some is destructive. It affects our thoughts and our way of living. What if we took a success or failure and looked at it honestly? Are you as smart as you think you are or just lucky? Were you really that bad or are you just being too tough on yourself yourself? Great questions. 

Now all this is fine in everyday life until it becomes life changing. Do we go down dark alleys and rabbit holes with a clear sense of the risk? I have a bad feeling about the Middle East. Sure I want Iran to succumb after all those years of brutality but is it realistic to say we can win in a week or maybe not at all?

How about our national debt? To me $37 trillion is scary. We hear pundits who for years have tried to give us a perception of invincibility. They will always buy our debt. It is only x, y, or z percent of our GDP. Do you really think that is reality? 

It all gets down to being real. With ourselves, our kids and our country. Not brow beating but a simple look into the mirror. Tear away all the biases and contortions of our past. Just ask, what do we have here? Being honest is pretty close to reality. Probably as close as we will ever get. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids. 

The US built .04% of the world’s shipping last year. China built 54% South Korea and Japan built 40% combined. Is it reality to think we can resurrect our ship building industry to the extent necessary?

Your brain rewrites memories. You have the original event and then all those adaptions. Your past is not as real as you think. Scary,huh?

Your body is constantly changing itself. Your skin cycles every 27 days. Your taste buds die and are replaced every two weeks. Your liver regenerates itself every 150 days(Thank God) In other there is a new you constantly. 

There are people who don’t have noise in their brains. They actually can’t picture things. Yikes

Everyone who have ever met has a different impression of you. No one sees us the same way.