Monsters in Our Heads
What two Disney rides showed me about perception
This summer, our family did what many American families with small children do: go to the most “magical place on earth” — Disney.
This time around, it was my son’s first roller coaster ride. His cousin had been telling him all about this ride she went on this year called Space Mountain, and how cool it was because it was like “space.” I was excited about going on Space Mountain too. Then the time came, and as we waited in line, you could hear the questions start coming — those questions of doubt. His cousin, who had ridden it earlier this year, decided at the very last minute that she did not want to go on it. My son was steadfast, so I went on Space Mountain with him. To be clear, I do like these types of roller coasters — the “family-friendly” ones, not the “legs-dangling and doing roller loops” type.
The next day, the family was at Hollywood Studios and decided to go on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. I had not had the opportunity to ride it, nor had my wife. As we waited in line, my wife was all tense and nervous about “what may come in the unknown future,” while my son and I were excited, despite hearing that there was “a drop” (it really was nothing in the end). We were elated to share this adventure into the unknown together.
Everyone knows these rides are tailor-made for the entertainment of the people who ride them. Still, we had two different outlooks: one part of our group was nervous the entire time, before and during the ride, about what was to come. They made this “monster” in their heads dominate their perception. Another group was excited about the unknown and the adventure that might lie ahead.
Same ride, two totally different views.
And then it occurred to me how much like life these rides are. You can be in the same living space with others, and each person’s perception of an event or conversation could be totally different.
These are the perceived monsters in our heads. The nervousness about the unknown, the way each of our brains processes risk. When I was a child, I used to be in the first group. Life experiences —moving around, operating by myself with no safety net— gave me confidence over the years. Nothing ends up as bad as you make it in your head, even when you think times are dark for you.
Our perceptions cause all of us to have totally different experiences of the same objective reality. We tend to forget this.
Same ride, two totally different experiences; same life.
