How Your Mind Shapes Your World and How Perception Becomes Truth
- Mar 6
- 5 min read
Jara Dekker is a cognitive and emotional performance coach helping people rewire their nervous system for the success they’re seeking. She’s the founder of A Curious Catalyst and co-founder of both Logos, a personality assessment tool, and Unbound, a neuroscience-based well-being platform.
What if the reality you experience is shaped by the way you perceive the world? Our thoughts, predictions, and beliefs have the power to create the life we live. Discover how neuroscience reveals that our brain continuously predicts outcomes, reinforcing beliefs that form the foundation of our reality. By shifting these beliefs and becoming aware of our thought patterns, we can take control of our minds and consciously shape a reality that empowers us. This article explores how understanding your mind’s power can transform your life.
Creating reality
"Careful what you wish for!" Most of us have heard this warning at least a couple of times in our lifetime, most likely shrugging it off as superstition. And yet, how much truth is in the idea that what you "wish for" or think about actually comes true?
While we still seem to know very little about our "human condition," as some of my friends like to call it, more and more studies are emerging regarding the brain, our thoughts, and the perception of reality.
So, what are they revealing? Well, it seems we can create our own reality and are actually more powerful than we may give ourselves credit for. Neuroscience is regularly revealing more about how this works. In particular, there are two points that have really stood out to me as I have studied the human psyche:
Our brains are continually engaged in the process of prediction. It creates future predictions based on past experiences to help prevent overwhelm when navigating the complexities of life and survival. But here's the key piece, the brain actively seeks to minimize "prediction errors", that is, the difference between what we expect to happen and what actually happens. So, when our experiences match our predictions, our brain rewards us by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, motivation, and reinforcement.[1]
There's our Reticular Activating System (RAS), located in the brainstem, which determines which sensory data reaches our conscious awareness. Your brain receives approximately 11 million bits of information every second, yet consciously processes only 40-50 bits per second. So, only 0.00036% of all the information becomes conscious.[2]
How beliefs shape our experience
So, in short, what does this actually mean for us on a practical level? Well, when presented with all the information, our brain has a built-in reward system that favors the 0.00036% of information that fits our beliefs (even if those beliefs are negative). Given that when we come across information that supports what we already think, whatever that may be, we get a hit of dopamine. This, in turn, makes us more likely to accept, remember, and prioritize evidence that confirms our internal thoughts and beliefs, reinforcing our existing views and creating a strong confirmation bias.
The first point creates the bias, and the latter provides the evidence to prove it true, or rather shows us a reality in which our thinking fits.
“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality.” – Earl Nightingale.
Albert Ellis[3] believed that at the heart of our most harmful behaviors and emotional struggles lies a deeply ingrained, irrational philosophical or ideological core. That is, a belief so fundamental to our view of the world and ourselves that we don’t even recognize it as a belief. Instead, we assume it to be reality.
These beliefs operate as silent scripts, dictating our emotional reactions and shaping our behaviors in ways we’re often unaware of.
For example:
If you believe you're not good enough, your brain will emphasize evidence supporting this, creating feelings of inadequacy.
If you’re convinced someone dislikes you, your brain selectively notices cues validating this belief, even if they’re neutral or friendly.
If you believe opportunities are scarce, your brain overlooks possibilities right in front of you.
These can also lead to even deeper self-defeating behaviors like avoidance, lashing out, self-medicating, or shutting down.
This became the foundation for Ellis' REBT, in which he argues that to change our behaviors, we must first change our feelings, and to change our feelings, we must change our thoughts. As we’ve determined, more recent studies are proving Ellis' theory not only for negative thoughts and patterns, but also for empowering thoughts and beliefs.
Shaping your own reality
So, what does that mean for us, practically? Well, it means our greatest leverage point for meaningful change lies within our own thinking. If our brain is wired to reinforce our current beliefs, shaping the reality we perceive and ultimately live, then shifting those beliefs becomes the priority. Rather than passively accepting the reality our subconscious patterns create, we must actively and consciously choose to become aware of our patterning, the ways of being we developed as children and throughout our lives to protect, survive, and thrive. To understand our nervous system and subconscious, we must learn to regulate ourselves and also actively choose and control the thoughts and beliefs we nurture.
Don't get me wrong, I don’t mean merely to lean into wishful optimism, positive thinking, or meaningless affirmations. It’s the deliberate act of becoming aware of our internal narratives, working on our default patterns, and intentionally rewriting them. In short, your brain will choose to see what it expects to see, but you have the power to shape those expectations.
I'm not saying this is always easy, although time and again my work with people has proven it doesn't have to be as hard as some might believe, but it is our responsibility, and a beautiful opportunity, to cultivate and reinforce beliefs aligned with what we are trying to create and the person we want to be.
By getting to know yourself, your inner voice, your patterns, and intentionally shifting your thoughts, cultivating greater awareness, and consciously aligning your beliefs with the reality you genuinely want to live, you reclaim your ability to create a reality that empowers, supports, and fulfills you.
After all, the way we choose to see the world truly does create the world we see.
Read more from Jara Dekker
Jara Dekker, Cognitive and Emotional Performance Coach
Jara Dekker is a leader in emotional resilience, cognitive performance, and human transformation. After years of studying how personalities are shaped, Jara co-developed and co-founded the Logos assessment, which helps people understand themselves deeply and apply that awareness to how they live, lead, and connect. As founder of A Curious Catalyst, she works directly with individuals through a practical, proven approach to help them rewire the patterns that inhibit their goals, strengthening their inner foundation for lasting peace, strength, and prosperity. She is also the co-founder of Unbound, a neuroscience-based platform helping organisations strengthen employee wellbeing to improve performance, engagement, and culture.
References:
[1] Friston, K. (2010). "The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory?" Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127-138.)
[2] Garcia-Rill, E., Kezunovic, N., Hyde, J., Simon, C., Beck, P., & Urbano, F. J. (2013). "Coherence and frequency in the reticular activating system (RAS)." Sleep Medicine Reviews, 17(3), 227-238. / Wilson, T. D. (2002). Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious. Harvard University Press.
[3] 1913-2007, American Psychologist and founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
