My reality isn’t everyone else’s

So…I’m taking this behavior modification class and it’s probably my favorite class.  We talk about antecedents, target behaviors, and consequences.  Then if you want to get into Cognitive Behaviorism you talk about emotions, situations, cognitions, and then the behavior.  Anyway, it’s basically a class that teaches people how to condition themselves or others to stop an undesired behavior or start a desired behavior, great stuff!  My favorite part has been the Cognitive Behavior lecture because it showed me that my reality is not the only reality, simple concept I know, but stay with me.  When we react to something, we are actually reacting to our own cognitions (opinions).  For example, you’re in a store and someone runs into you with their shopping cart….you can have a number of emotions based on what you THINK took place in that situation.  You could be angry because your thought is “they did that on purpose!” or you could be confused because your thought is “what just happened?” or you could be merciful because your thought is “it was an accident”….in whatever circumstance your emotion is based on what you THINK took place.  Your behavior is then determined by your own understanding of the situation.  I like it.  You know if you think about it, there are 6 billion different realities, probably more but I’m not philosophical, because there are about 6 billion people on this planet.  Not everyone has the same rules of conduct, relationships, manners, etc.  We truly do see things differently because no one has had the exact same experiences.  I don’t know why this concept means so much to me, but it makes me more aware and also changes how personal I take things.  Not everyone is trying to ruin my life and the universe does not hate me.