Recently I saw two different posts on social media. Both were citing the same study results from NASA. One said it was proof that global warming is not occurring, and the other said it was proof that global warming is occurring. How could this be? The answer lies in Confirmation Bias.
Confirmation Bias causes us to filter our perception. We all like to feel like we are smart and right. So, instead of looking at the world objectively, we look for evidence that confirms what we already believe. And then we reject, question, and minimize any evidence that contradicts what we believe. We all do this. It’s really hard to escape.
Why This is Important
This means that one person going through life believing that people aren’t trustworthy, they lie, cheat, and steal, will find evidence to support this view. This “evidence” just confirms and strengthens the view, and the cycle continues. Another person could go through the life, walking the same streets, greeting the same people believing that people are good and kind and helpful. This person will too find evidence to support his view, and his view will be strengthened and confirmed.
The punch line is this: We get to decide what kind of world we live in. It’s all out there – deceptive people, truthful people, evil people, good people, egotistical people, helpful people, hateful people, loving people, trustworthy people, and more. If we decide the world is cruel and doesn’t care, that’s what we’ll find. And if we decide the world is loving and full of life, we’ll find this instead.
What We See
The trick is in the belief. How can we change what we already believe?
The truth is that we don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are. If I believe the world is full of untrustworthy people, it’s probably because I break my word often. I am not trustworthy. If I believe the world is full of cheats, I am probably involved in cheating.
To change my belief about the world, I must change myself. I can’t quite fathom a world of trustworthy people, when I’m not counted among them. But I can believe a world full of trustworthy people if I am one too.
Again, we get to decide what kind of world we live in, yet we must get there by becoming the kind of person we want to see in the world. When we do this we will finally be able to believe in the world we want to see. When we believe, we will see evidence that it’s true. And we will have used Confirmation Bias to our advantage – in addition to there being one more really awesome person in the world.
Effectively, you decide what kind of world you live in, and then as if by a miracle, you’ll find evidence that you were right.
So the real question is what kind of world do you want to live in? Really.
