Wasabi peas have a lifespan of 1,000 years.

Craving a quick snack after work the other day, I grabbed a bag of Wasabi Peas and popped a handful into my mouth in anticipation of the little Wah explosion that comes with them. When I reached for the second handful, I checked the expiration date on the bag. It read: “Best before, 093006.” My mind immediately interpreted those numbers as meaning the month of September in the year 3006! And I thought, I really did, “Wow, that’s a 1000+ year lifespan!”

It only took me about 3 seconds to recognize the impossibility of that perception. But for those three seconds, my reality reflected the belief that wasabi peas, or at least this bag of them, could last 1,000 years. Around the fifth second, I think accurately this time, I reinterpreted the numbers to indicate September 30, 2006.

It was a simple mistake, a perception trick, you could say. And the expiration date on the wasabi peas is obviously not a big deal. But what’s important is that it made me pay attention to the ways my mind interprets and often misinterprets the world around me.

I began to wonder how often my perceptions are flawed and how often those perceptions go unchallenged.

Here is another example. I was recently referred to a prospective client who I called to discuss and schedule an initial training session. He answered the phone and I introduced myself and told him why she was calling. When she answered, I immediately knew something was wrong. My mind, helpful as ever, and without any corroborating evidence, immediately concluded that she did not want to work with me as a trainer and that, in fact, she was downright distraught that she had called her.

Fortunately, I’ve learned not to trust these assumptions in my mind, so I jumped in and asked if something was wrong. He told me that a good friend had passed away two days before.

I could feel my mind slipping into the corner like a cartoon character trying to avoid being noticed after doing something really stupid.

Our minds are masters of assumption. Most of the time, those assumptions are wrong. And all too often, we accept them without question. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference in my life if I had accepted that wasabi peas have a 1,000-year lifespan. But it certainly would have affected me if I had chosen not to question my mind’s assumption about that potential customer. Had it not been challenged, that perception would have directly fed my sense of self-worth, ultimately contributing to an internal devaluation.

One faulty perception will not cause great harm, but when multiple misperceptions are not challenged, the effect on your life can be dramatic.

Can you think of times in your life when your mind misinterpreted a situation? Perhaps someone said something that, without clarification, could have been taken a number of ways. Perhaps her manager made a comment that made you think she was disappointed in her work.

What I want you to do, over the next few days, is challenge as many perceptions as possible. From the obvious to the hidden, look at and re-evaluate the assumptions in your mind that are too often taken for granted.

When you see a car and perceive it as such, question it. “Is that really a car?” When you find that someone is “watching” you and you wonder “what did I do wrong?” question the way you have perceived that look.

Some of your perceptions will be true, that car will probably end up being a car, some you will recognize as obviously false, and some will require additional information, perhaps from someone else. The point is not whether the perceptions are true or false. The point is to start questioning the often unquestionable assumptions in your mind.

Your mind can be a wonderful servant, but a rather poor master. By questioning his perceptions and assumptions, he immediately begins to shift the balance of power away from his mind and back to his essential nature.