A friend was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles. After a 45-minute delay in taking off, they then had to make an unexpected stop in Sacramento. The flight attendant announced there would be another 45-minute delay, and if they wanted to get off the aircraft, they could re-board in 30 minutes.
Everyone got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. My friend noticed him as he walked by and could tell he had flown this flight before because his guide dog lay quietly underneath his seat. Just then the pilot approached the man and called him by name.
"Keith, we're in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?"
Keith replied, "No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs."
All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot, who was wearing sunglasses, walk off the plane with the guide dog. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, they also were trying to change airlines.
Unfortunately, perception equals reality for many. But perception and reality have very different meanings. The problem happens when perception becomes a person's reality. They see what they expect or want to see, disregarding what is actually true.
Psychologist Jim Taylor wrote: "Perception acts as a lens through which we view reality. … our tendency is to assume that how we perceive reality is an accurate representation of what reality truly is.
"But it's not," he adds. "The problem is that the lens through which we perceive is often warped in the first place by our genetic predispositions, past experiences, prior knowledge, emotions, preconceived notions, self-interest and cognitive distortions."