We see what we want to see, because we’re not in touch with reality, we are in touch with reality but fail to see a true reality of our circumstances, or we have no clear understanding of how to see what we need to see.

Seeing what we want to see means we’ll always fail to see what we need to see. Seeing what we need to see will help us bring about the right outcome, but first we need to think about and understand everything about our circumstances, in the way it happens.

From my own experiences when we see and understand our circumstances, we give ourselves more control over our decisions, in a way that was intended. In the long term not seeing what we need to see will keep us stuck, or will leave us living in denial.

We stay stuck because we’re looking at a totally different reality than the reality we’re supposed to be seeing.

Ilana Estelle is a mental health and wellbeing advocate who combines educational insight with her personal experience of living with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. She holds diplomas in Counselling, Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Stress Management. Through her writing, Ilana supports others in navigating their emotional, mental, and physical health challenges. In addition to writing for The CP Diary, her work has appeared in healthy lifestyle magazines. Ilana is also the author of three books: Cerebral Palsy: A Story – Finding the Calm After the Storm, Spirituality, Healing and Me, and Survival: The Covid Years – Time for Change.

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6 comments on “We see what we want”

  1. This is very true, we do tend to see just what we want to see, but as you say the key is to see what we need to see and often that is a completely different and difficult scenario.

    1. Yes it is, but something I believe we can all do. It's also not something you ever forget. I wasn't born knowing in the true sense.

      I realised from a very early age how important it was to take control and learned the importance of living my life this way and instinctively began to change my thought processes, so that I could live my life this way.

  2. I've recently experienced great disappointment and emotional stress because I saw what I wanted to see, although reality was staring directly in my face for a prolonged period of time. I shunned reality and pretended to see the forest but there were no trees.

    I should have paid attention to that uncomfortable feeling inside of me; it was telling me to open my eyes and see the truth, but I didn't want to see that.

    1. Please don't be too hard on yourself Tim. I'm sure we've all been there at one point or another.

      From experience we eventually get to that same point whether we walk away sooner or later. If our circumstances aren't right, we can't always make those circumstances right. Often it becomes a sensible choice if our circumstances aren't right for us to walk away.

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