You are not broken. Even if there is lots going on and sometimes you may not feel you are always at your best. Today we are talking about being to see the Whole Picture: The Brain Science Behind Perceived Imperfections. Watch the video or keep reading for more.

Once per cycle, we see a full moon, gorgeous and majestic, Perfect! The rest of the cycle, the moon is not less perfect, it is still the same size, but our angle changes and somehow we do not see it whole anymore, we only see portion of it, sometimes a small tiny crescent of what its full potential is. You see where I am going with this right? Whenever you feel that you are not your best, that you know you could have done better, you should have said this instead, you feel you are wasting your potential, you know you could apply for this position, you could be in much better shape, you could potentially ask this person out, and you could eat healthier, but you don’t because most times, you may feel broken. Only once per cycle are you at your best, totally rocking it and in your Mojo. But the rest of the time, it’s self-doubts, negative self-talk and less than perfect behaviours.

Cognitive framing.

Let’s understand that you are not less perfect when there are tons of other things happening to you, which shifts the angle that you see your personal moon. Depending on the angle or perspective, we interpret information differently. This is why the moon appears to change shape, even though it’s always whole. Our perception of ourselves shifts in the same way depending on external validation, mood, and circumstances.

Challenges are piling up at work, that will cause an angle shift. Then someone close to you gets diagnosed with something bad, that shifts again, you have unexpected expenses, another shift, and so on, making your think that a huge portion of your moon is gone.

Perceptual Completion

Focus on the reverse. Your brain can perceptually complete what is missing. The brain fills in missing information. Just like we see a "whole" moon even when part of it is shadowed, our mind completes images based on context. Similarly, we may perceive ourselves as incomplete based on external perspectives rather than reality.

Negativity Bias

The problem is the latter is more frequent. Our brain is wired to detect differences, gaps, and "imperfections" due to its evolutionary need for survival. The brain is more sensitive to what’s "wrong" than what’s right. This is a survival mechanism, ensuring we pay attention to potential threats. When applied to self-perception, we tend to focus on our flaws rather than our completeness. It often leads to self-judgment and comparison, activating self-comparison and the default mode network in our brain, reinforcing the idea that we are "not enough." Training our brain to shift perspectives can help us see our inherent wholeness.

Neuroplasticity and Reframing

The good news is that the brain can be rewired. Just as we learn to accept that the moon is always whole, we can train our minds to recognize that we are always complete, no matter what phase we’re in. Just shift your angle, shift your mindset and you can quickly get back to seeing yourself as whole. Tell yourself: I just need to shift my angle and I will feel my Mojo back again. Don’t Just Be. Be Your Best!

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