“Take off your rose-colored glasses,” people say, pointing to self-deception. Clearly, the rainbow color changes the perception of the world around you.
But why is there no common expression with the opposite meaning? “Your brown-black glasses horribly distort everything. Things are much better.”
It seems that an error toward pessimism is unpleasant, but harmless. Supposedly, the apocalypse will never catch a paranoid person off guard.
Well, not so fast. Short-term stress can be beneficial, while chronic stress destroys the body the way rust destroys steel. Dark glasses protect your eyes in bright sunlight, but at dusk they will make you stumble and fall.
Now imagine that the colors of your lenses are irritation, despondency, hatred, envy, jealousy, resentment, anxiety, boredom, and sadness. They simply won’t physically let anything else reach your retina.
I’m not saying we should smash all our glasses. I wear them myself, different ones for outdoors and for screens. They are a tool with a function and limits to where they should be used. It’s worth knowing and remembering both.
When it comes to the things that truly matter, glasses are unnecessary, and so is ordinary vision. What matters is direct perception. Suchness, as Buddhists say.
A Founder recognizes an opportunity with his gut. An artist’s hand paints the picture by itself. Spiritual vision reveals the implicit to a priest.
Take off your glasses, close your eyes, and... see reality as it is.
An intriguing task, isn’t it?
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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