Shortly after the profound insight on priorities shaping perceptions, I had another one – perceptions shape behaviors.
I love traveling alone. I feel very safe in South East Asia and thus follow my passion without any hesitations. Only once did I feel unsafe. The street lights went off at 11 pm in Da Nang, and an army of hungry dogs crawled out of their hideouts. Not a fan of dogs in general, even less so of stray dogs, I decided to get a cab. Fast.
Recently, I was in a small village in Indonesia. I had at least 2 hours until sunset and was exploring the rural area around my beach hotel. People passing on their motorbikes gave me a look full of astonishment. As if I was the discovery of the century. Finally, a fruit vendor shook her head when I told her where I am staying, and insisted on driving me home.
That’s the typical reaction I get whenever I speak about my trips: ‘you’re crazy,’ ‘so courageous’ or ‘you should be more careful!’ One South American even claimed that South East Asia is no less dangerous than Brazil or Argentina and insisted on me stopping to be so naive. I would never explore South America by walking around alone. It turns out that my perception is the single factor influencing what I do, or not do.
It is not so much different to our everyday life. When we work in an entrepreneurial environment with a ‘fail fast’ mindset, we aim for more ambitious goals and dare to step outside of our comfort zone. When we feel confident, we tend to defend our point of view with more rigor and passion. That also implies that when we feel pessimistic, we give up faster. Or, that when we assume to be not empowered, we hesitate to make even the smallest decisions independently.
My ‘South East Asia mindset:’ convince myself that the world is just fine and go all-in
I don’t want my perceptions to limit my opportunities and chances. For the future, whenever I notice that I am holding back, I will adopt my ‘South East Asia mindset:’ convince myself that the world is just fine and go all-in. In most cases, if ‘business stray dogs’ appear, I can take a short break and reassess my perception of the situation. If really needed, I can order my ‘business cab’ and return to action with the next day’s sunlight.
However, I also decided to follow my South American friend’s advice. Last time, when the concierge in Kuala Lumpur told me that I shouldn’t walk around alone after sunset, I followed his advice and went to the hotel pool instead. I had a lovely evening, still.
Do you have a ‘South East Asia mindset’ that you can adopt if needed?
Take care,
Katya