I stumbled upon a word that made me do this double take.   It’s the German word Umwelt (plural: umwelten)

Um·welt: noun /o͝om velt/

In the study of animal behavior, unwelt is the world as it is experienced by a particular organism.  Each biological being has it’s own window on reality.  This is the scientific translation of “perception is reality”.

We each have two sets of perception.

One is self perception or self-awareness:

Understanding who you are, what drives you, what makes you happy, what are you capable of.  The saying “you can achieve anything you set your mind to” simply isn’t true and a healthy helping of self-awareness protects you from attempting the impossible.  I can hear people cringing here but, as an example, I’m 5ft 7in and I could never be a PRO basketball player – no matter how much I put my mind to it.   That’s a physical limitation but there are all kinds of limitations, physical, emotional, cognitive that can be real barriers to “achieving anything you put your mind to”.   Self-awareness, used effectively, helps you understand your strengths, where you can grow and what you just need to stay away from.  Focusing on what you are great at, or are capable of being great at, is the key to exponential success.

The second facet of perception is Umvelt:

It speaks to how we see and react the world around us.  Two people can be sitting by the ocean at the same time watching the waves come in and each can experience a completely different “reality” about what is happening. In the same way, two people can be sitting in a meeting room listening to a speaker and, because of their life experiences and beliefs, then can receive completely different messages.

In my career, when managing people, I always considered people that thought they were superstars but weren’t, as people that struggled with a lack of self awareness.  These are the people that thought they worked harder than anyone else or had the best results when the truth was they were just average.  Formal review time would come around and their jaws would drop when the evaluation didn’t rate then as a top performer.

The easiest example I can think of is to look at how automobile drivers rank themselves.  Listening to people talk, it’s a safe assumption that most people think they are better than average drivers.  My guess is that close to 90 percent of people think they drive better than most.  When the mathematical truth is that 50% of drivers are below average and 50% of drivers are above average.  The same false self-awareness appears in the workplace.  In my estimation, 90% of workers think they work faster, smarter, or harder than the people around them.  The same math that applies to drivers, applies to workers.

The problem may actually not stem from “self” awareness but instead from Umwelt, or the way people perceive the world around them.

How many times have you heard someone complain that “someone is out to get me” or “nobody listens” or “no matter how hard I try, nothing will ever change.”  These are all external views about situations.   The problem here is also an opportunity.  Perception is indeed reality: Umwelt.

Imagine if instead of believing that nobody listened, you believed that people were actually interested in what you had to say: your ideas, your suggestions, or your stories.  Wouldn’t you be more inclined to share, test for reaction, and follow-up.  What about “no matter how hard I try, nothing will change?”  What if you truly perceived that hard work led to change and success? Wouldn’t you work harder?
In a world of heavy competition for opportunities, it is critical that both your self-awareness and your umwelt be finely tuned and pointed in the right direction.

On the self-awareness side, if you are working in a role that plays to your weaknesses but you aren’t aware of that – or you choose to continue to push yourself beyond what you are truly capable of, it is a formula for failure.  You need to understand in very practical terms what you can and what you can’t do.  That isn’t to say you shouldn’t pursue growth opportunities, it simply means you need to take an unbiased look at what your results are and make an assessment about whether or not you should continue down that path.

On the umwelt side, you need to take a look at the reality of situations and events by somehow disassociating yourself from them.  What would someone who didn’t know you or your situation think?  Is someone truly “out to get you” or is that a reality that is being created by the way you react or behave?    This goes well beyond “thinking positive thoughts”.  If your reality is a world where no mater how hard you try you will never succeed, then that is an obstacle to you that you aren’t likely to overcome.  The truth is that people that try hard, succeed significantly more often that people that don’t try hard.

Get some objective measurements on what working hard means. Is it hours, is it going above and beyond your job scope, is it taking on a specialty?  Then, set some goals or metrics to measure what change you are looking for.   Track your “real” effort and not your perceived effort and track your progress towards that goal.  Chances are, you will see progress and, eventually, change your umwelt.

There are all kinds or external-world perceptions that work against us.  People who think that their co-workers don’t like them, so they stop trying.  People who think that they can’t make a presentation, so they stop trying.  People who think that they have reached their career plateau, so they stop trying.

The same perception problem exists in personal lives too.   Relationships that end because both parties feel the other person is tired of them.  People that “aren’t good in crowds” – if that their belief system, if that is the reality they project, that will be their reality.

Here’s an introspective thought.  The whole concept of umwelt will be uncomfortable to most people.  The fact that they way you perceive something may not be “right” or may be the driver of the reality is a tough concept.

When you catch yourself thinking the cards are stacked against you, take a second look and understand what an unbiased observer would see.  There are indeed 2 sides to every story and situation.  Make the best of yours and, if the cards are stacked against you, restack the cards.