£5, might buy you lunch, snacks. Maybe even an item of clothing for those of you who are bargain hunters. How we feel about £5 is dependent on a few variables.
For example
1. In your bank / wallet or purse, you have £20 spare cash after paying bills. You fancy lunch and the pub has an offer – lunch sandwich £5. Yippee! You think nothing of paying £5 and enjoy your lunch.
2. You have just about paid your bills and have 14p in your bank, wallet or purse. Then your child brings home the school trip letter asking for £5 towards the trip to the museum which will help with this term’s project. You have no money left. Suddenly £5 may as well be £100 because you can’t afford to pay it.
Perception is made up of multiple things. Current situation, beliefs, confidence, values, understanding. Our perception filter, self esteem, decision making skills. Emotions, self talk, thoughts, behaviours. Life experience, external influencers, future thinking, lots of things.
When something is expected of you and you are not able to meet those expectations, it can change your perception of it. £5 can seem like so little when you have money. But it can also seem like so much when you don’t.
I remember the pressure on days where 4 of my kids had something we had to pay for at once. We had very little money to pay. It automatically affected my mood, concentration, and behaviour. My perception filter turned negative. I wondered how I was going to cope. How would I pay and pay for everything else? I would focus on what I didn’t have and get bogged down in it.
You can choose to recognise, list and wallow in what you haven’t got. Or you can choose to be grateful for all the things you do have.
Gratitude is founded in perception.