Latest news with #PlebeSummer
Forbes
07-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Perception Is Reality: The Story You Tell Shapes The Life You Live
Jess Agnew, Founder of BridgeWing . getty A single phrase can follow you for a lifetime. For me, it was this: Perception is reality. It was one of the first lessons drilled into me during Plebe Summer at the U.S. Naval Academy. It felt like a warning: If your teammates believe you're unreliable or uncommitted, that becomes the "truth" for them. What I didn't realize then is just how deeply that idea is grounded in neuroscience and psychology. Once a belief takes root, our brain works hard to confirm it (even if it isn't true). This principle is everywhere. It's one of the reasons influencer culture works. We don't always trust influencers because of their credentials; we trust the image they create. A wellness expert with glowing skin must know the secret to health. A parenting blogger with curated photos must be a calm and gentle mom. Is that reality? Maybe not ... but once we form that impression, our brain starts looking for ways to confirm it. This is a psychological phenomenon called confirmation bias: the tendency to seek out and favor information that supports what we already believe. Once the perception is in place, our minds begin scanning for cues that reinforce it, even if that belief was never fully accurate to begin with. And it's a slippery slope. When The Bias Turns Inward The idea that "perception is reality" doesn't just shape how others see us; it shapes how we see ourselves. And it doesn't only show up in high-pressure environments. It's there in the everyday: in our leadership, in parenting and in the quiet moments when no one's watching. The same principle that guides external perception subtly directs our internal narrative. The words we repeat about ourselves become what I call our "identity hook": the familiar version of ourselves we hold onto to feel secure, even when it limits who we believe we can become. Tell yourself you're lazy, and your brain will highlight every moment you've rested or paused. Tell yourself you're selfish, and guilt will creep into every boundary you try to set. Tell yourself you're not good enough, and one piece of criticism will outweigh five compliments. You don't even have to try. Your brain will do it for you, especially once that belief has been running on loop for years. This isn't just mindset. It's biology. Repeated thoughts reshape the neural pathways in your brain, reinforcing your internal story until it starts to feel like fact. But what if you let go of the beliefs handed down to you and chose a narrative that honors effort instead of perfection? One that pulls you toward who you're becoming, rather than anchoring you to who you've been? Research, like Carol Dweck's on growth mindset, shows we're far more motivated by actions that align with our identity than by external rewards. When your actions reflect who you believe you are, not just what you're trying to do, your story starts to stick. And your brain, once primed by repetition and belief, begins to reinforce the version of you that you actually want to become. Practical Ways To Shift Your Story Here are some steps to rewire your internal narrative: 1. Interrupt the old belief. Start by paying attention to your inner dialogue. What labels do you automatically apply to yourself? Now ask: Are these beliefs based on truth, or repetition? Do they reflect who I want to become, or who I've been told I am? 2. Choose a new belief. Think about the qualities you want to embody. Write one sentence that reflects this version of you, such as "I am focused" or "I am worthy." 3. Define what that belief looks like in action. Don't just choose a new belief; decide what it looks like in your daily life. If you're trying to believe "I am focused," you might define it as closing your email and finishing one task at a time. "I am worthy" might mean accepting a compliment without deflecting. 4. Use your brain's built-in bias. The reticular activating system (RAS) is your brain's filter, tuned by what you decide to focus on. It works in tandem with confirmation bias: The RAS controls what gets your attention, and confirmation bias shapes how you interpret it. So, when you act in line with a new belief, pause. Let it count. Let it reinforce your new story. That's how your brain starts reinforcing the version of you you're choosing to grow into. 5. Keep practicing the new story. Identity is formed through repetition. The more often you think, act and speak in alignment with who you're becoming, the more naturally that version of you takes root. Owning The Narrative: Your Story, Your Terms This practice is about reclaiming the story you're telling yourself by choosing what you carry forward. That starts with awareness. Then intention. Then repetition. Ask yourself: How did I show up today? Is that who I want to be? What did I learn, and how might it shape the version of me I want to reinforce tomorrow? There's science behind this. Your brain isn't just a storyteller. It's a pattern seeker, a filter and a builder of identity. The more consciously you shape your narrative, the more your mind will support it. For me, it started at the Naval Academy, where I first heard the phrase "Perception is reality." Back then, it felt like pressure, as if I had to get it right all the time. Now, I see it differently. I'm learning to notice the stories I tell myself and choose the ones that align with who I want to be. Some days I get it right. Other days, I catch myself mid-story and begin again. That's the work: choosing the hook you want to build your identity around, over and over, until it becomes your truth. Perception is reality. So, choose your perspective with intention, and reinforce it with the habits, attention and self-talk that shape the life you're building. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
USA Today
05-02-2025
- General
- USA Today
Friends remember Brian Ellis, DC plane crash passenger, as 'one of the best'
Friends remember Brian Ellis, DC plane crash passenger, as 'one of the best' Brian Ellis and his teammates won the Georgia state high school football championship in 1987. By the fall of his senior year in 1988, he was their starting quarterback. 'It was an early sign of his leadership and commitment to team values,' stated a tribute to him this week by the public school district in his hometown in Clayton County, Georgia. Those virtues would follow him through a football career at the U.S. Naval Academy, almost 22 years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, and in the enduring friendships he maintained until he perished with 66 others in the mid-air collision over Washington, D.C. last week. Ellis, 53, served as a helicopter pilot and instructor for 12 years of his Marine career, including stints overseas while deployed. For his friends, the irony of his death in a collision with an Army helicopter was tough to handle. Ellis left his hometown of Morrow, Georgia in 1989 after graduating high school to attend the traditional Plebe Summer at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he had been recruited to play football. During those early weeks, he quickly fell in with three classmates, who became 'the four musketeers,' said Chad Chatlos, another member of the quartet. It would become a lifelong friendship for Ellis, Chatlos, Che' Bolden and Mark McGinnis. They played four years of Navy football and did a lot of summer training cruises together, he said. The friends headed into the Marine Basic School at Quantico together in 1994, and Chatlos said that Ellis and Bolden roomed together during flight school. 'From 1989 to 2000, we were pretty much together all the time," he said. "Over the years, we always kept in touch.' 'He was a great friend. He'd do anything for you,' Chatlos said. 'All of his friends say he was one of the best.' Even after everybody started getting married, they 'stayed fast friends,' often vacationing together on beaches in the Florida Panhandle, where Ellis served for years as a flight instructor in Pensacola. Chatlos said their latest events had been retirements. Ellis was a godfather to children in the McGinnis and Bolden families. After Bolden posted the news about his friend on LinkedIn this week, the comments section quickly filled with people who fondly remembered Ellis as a classmate, teammate, fellow Marine, leader, great dad and lacrosse coach. In the later years of his Marine Corps career, Ellis managed public remarks and messaging for the Commandant of the Marine Corps, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also led a team charged with implementing Red Teaming, a planning process where a small group of experts provide critical thought and alternative perspectives to identify risks and problem solving, according to the Marine Corps. Ellis retired as a Lt. Colonel in 2015 and went to work the next month for Deloitte, an international professional services network, for which he was traveling on business last week. He is survived by his wife Amy and two sons: Jack, who recently graduated college, and Luke, a senior at Purdue University, as well as his parents and siblings.
