One guy said it about Marketing and I completely agree with it. This article is not written to reinforce this point or prove it in theory, because I don’t aim to do a practical study to enforce this. It is a statement which I believe everyday I see things around me.

My perception about events, people, products etc around me is completely different to what others have or may have. To say that I’ve discovered that it’s all because of the fact that we are in a different state of mind every second, would be a fallacy. It’s just that I haven’t read up on this matter enough to quote anyone. I’m sure someone would’ve written or talked about this before me every single moment man has lived on this earth. It’s such a common thing to think and every broad minded individual would’ve thought and / or talked about perceptions. It’s too generic and simple to be missed.

Coming back to the point of perceptions. Take for example the change of wardrobe which I recently engineered for myself. It  was met with strong opposition from my parents especially my mom. I perceived this as necessary as my attire was not fit for the kind of job that I was doing. It was not in fashion and with the kind of clients I would be interacting with , it was absolutely necessary to re engineer it completely. But she did not see eye to eye with me on this. “Work is work and attire does matter , but what about all the stuff that you have before. Will that go waste? Will that rot in the closet? Why should I discard all the stuff which you haven’t worn enough, till now?  At least try to use it once in a while.” This was how she countered me. J

I come from a middle class family with safe drinking habits. By this I mean we are concerned about the water which we drink. Water in this part of the world is not safe even if it comes from the municipality. You have to filter it to make it potable. But I don’t understand why people have preference for drinking only mineral water or for that matter imported packaged water from France when packaged water certified to all European standards of purity, made in India, tastes the same?

Yes , when the idea of perceptions being completely different has come to be written about, then why not discuss perceptions changing over time. I again remember an incident happening to me at home. This time it was my mother serving soup in normal “katori” accompanied by a steel spoon , when I rejected the idea and asked her for a bone china soup bowl and spoon instead. Although my request was spurned with a queer look from her but I couldn’t enjoy the soup in that utensil. I’m the same person who used to drink from the same utensil years back and suddenly I changed. Probably the consulting bug has bit me and i’m into the same mode back at home also , trying to live a life up worldly where everything seems so perfect and from the Victorian era.

State of mind phenomena also changes your perception. This incident is my favorite as I’ve seen this happen dime a dozen. Before every party , everyone would say we love boozing and getting high but when the high reaches disproportionate levels and it all spills out in the end with a heavy head crushing hangover , then the only thought that comes to mind is “Why the hell did God invent booze?? L and I’m not going to drink heavy next time” !!