Our brain filters only one percent of impules that our body recieves

I did a great course last weekend. My girlfriend’s uncle was the trainer. He is Dutch but is in Brazil for the holidays and offered us a free 2 day course. The course was built up mostly from the material of Tony Robbins (Awake the Giant Within) and Stephan Covey (The 7 Habits). It was a great course. It offered a lot of information that I already knew but now much completer, linked, and whole.

I found a lot of practical ideas to put into practice in daily life. One of the things I really liked was the explanation that we consciously register only 1% of the impulses that our body receives. There is just too much info for our brain to calculate. Our brain of course filters, distorts and denies a lot of important (probably the most important) information that we are receiving.

This has (for anyone) enormous consequences and opportunities. There are a few which I recognized and would like to work on:

• Everyone sees, feels and hears something differently, so don’t expect others to have the same conclusions about things. This can be a conversation which you had together, a book you read, someone else’s behavior, a company’s mission.
• There is always a solution, a bright side to a situation, even when it seems so bad. Ask yourself the question when faced with a problem: “How is this a blessing in disguise?” Ask yourself until your spirit is lifted and you will have gained a very valuable tool in life.
• When in conflict of interest with others, try to understand the person. Really listen to them because you mightlearn a lot. If you understand each others needs, values and rules you can find a third solution, a solution in which everybody wins.
• There is so much more to any person than the first automatic, usually unconscious thoughts that arise when you see them. This judging is much more harmful than it seems. You pin someone down to a little rule, an idea, a need you have or a situation which takes away your possibility to feel the real beauty of any person. This beauty doesn’t arise from a rule, a thought or idea, it is there when you don’t judge, don’t calculate or think in needs, desires and have to’s. It brings an unclassifiable richness to your life, it is the state in which you also recognize your true value. So just let all the information stream in, and don’t make any conclusions and you’ll be truly happy.