We all know someone, or multiple other people, who have a few screws loose. The mentioned can often be qualified by chronic and consistent anxiety, tardiness, forgetfulness, sleeplessness, neglect, inconsistent physical health, avoidance of personal responsibility, victimhood, and overall failure to operate as a functional member of society. The word “delusional” comes to mind, but it carries such a nasty stigma. However, a deluded perception of reality is exactly what leads to any or every characteristic listed above. It may sound harsh, but debilitating delusions afflict many more people than we’re aware of, and you may be one of them. After all, being delusional requires you to believe you’re not in a delusion. As soon as you realize that you’re in one, you no longer are.

The most direct and logical conclusion upon the articulation of this is one of practicality. How can I improve my life once I realize exactly what delusions are? In any endeavor, if you’ve stumbled upon adversity or even failure, don’t rule out the possibility that you’re delusional. Not completely, but maybe within a very specific part of your life. The human perception is not just a camera attached to a computer. We don’t see things as they are. We project our premonitions and emotional state onto our sensory inputs. Then, we must discern reality from delusion and act on what we believe is the closest thing to the truth. The next time you’re late, accept the potential fact that you’re either not as urgent as you think you are or that you don’t care about the purpose of the event as much as you may think you do. The next time you injure yourself in a workout, face the reality that you’re either not as fit as you think or your recovery routines aren’t as dialed as they should be.

The next, and maybe most pertinent lesson that should come out of this conception is that of empathy. If the above paragraph or either of the examples make sense to you in any way, there’s a really good chance that we’re all delusional. At least for most of us, in our own little quirky ways. For some, in very serious ways that’s disastrous to their lives and to the lives of those around them. The point is, if you can find a small, seemingly insignificant delusion in your weekly life or even on a daily basis, we’re all susceptible to falling delusional about things big and small. Therefore, the next time you find yourself frustrated, hurt, or even betrayed by someone you know who you believe to be seriously delusional - consider compassion. They most likely don’t realize they’re delusional. If you care about this person enough, seek a constructive path for them to return to reality and responsibility. If you don’t feel a burden of responsibility for the person, proceed with caution or do not proceed at all. Uncontested delusions that have been allowed to flourish look like Nazi Germany, cult members, and people who trust the federal government.

On the other side of the coin of delusion is a glimpse at the effort to imitate The Creator of the heavens and the earth. Our complex consciousness can serve to be a tricky place as we’ve discussed, but if we can see through the malevolent, prideful, and dishonorable spirits of delusion we can create a not-yet-real future for ourselves and others that’s exponentially greater than that which could be without this ability. Try to imagine the bleakness of a world where artists like Michelangelo or Van Gogh couldn’t access their muse. Try to imagine the primitivity of a world without innovators like Edison and Jobs. Try to imagine how much worse your life would be this moment if you hadn’t persevered in moments of hopelessness in your past. We’ve all had them, and the reality of our future was dark. But there’s something inside of us that allows us to imagine a world, a life that doesn’t exist. In this sense, it’s a delusion. However, if it’s properly managed, you can turn this hopeful delusion into a reality. Our consciousness, our sovereign desires and aims can literally alter the fabric of reality. It’s an amazing and terrifying thought. We can choose, at literally any moment, to break out of the matrix and hack the system. Right there is the difference. We must choose. Your proposed reality must be extremely intentional. If it’s not, that means something else is determining the intended outcome. I’ll let your mind run wild with exactly what that could be.

You are not responsible for the initial content of your thoughts and feelings. But you are responsible for how you behave in accordance with those figments from the ether. Confront your life, your delusions, your hopes and dreams. Stare deep into the abyss that is your long-held perceptions of this existence. Ensure that they’re aimed upwards. Ensure that the false world you imagine you’re a part of is a world that’s better than the objective reality that we’re inevitably blind to. Use your humanity as it was intended.