“Do You Want to Be Right or Do You Want to Be Happy?” 

How Our Brain Interprets The World – What Really IS Real? 

You may remember this “Phill-ism”, the famous quote by TV Psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw PhD. 

"Do you want to be right - or do you want to be happy?" he always asked.

 I felt he was talking to me.

So, if you tend to be a “Right-Fighter” like me, watch the fun and mind-boggling video below and you may just change your mind… 

Do you still think that what you think you see is what really is there? 

We usually do, and most often, it is. 

But for nearly as long as history, illusionists found ways to trick us into seeing things differently from reality. 

And if you really take a hard look at this, we must ask ourselves the question: “Is there any reality at all?” – This is a metaphysical question that philosophers, writers, artists and thinkers asked for thousands of years…and that is still very relevant. 

The video above is a great and VERY convincing example… 

Did your  mouth will stay open when you watch this video?

Mine did, and I realized a whole host of things that I tend to think are "right" but others disagree...
Why is this important?

Consider this...

How Does Our Brain Form A Belief? 

We as humans need to be aware that just because we think something is true it may be an illusion that our brain forms as a consequence of thinking patterns that we have been conditioned to since childhood and that our brain has learned. 

I believe that our thought patterns, whether negative or positive, are also conditioned, “trained” that way, and what we call self-defeating beliefs can be learned – but also unlearned with the right “Brain Training” method. 

One of my mentors, Dr. Joseph McClendon III, PhD, has said this about the basic tenets of psychology:   

“Psychology in less than 10 seconds” – here it is: 

“As we think, so we feel 

As we feel, so we do 

As we do, so we have” 

Our brain is one of the most amazing organs in this universe (as we see it) and we really are just starting to understand a tiny little fraction about all the amazing things it does. 

This brain has evolved the ability to adapt to almost any naturally occurring patterns that the world threw at it throughout history. 

But our perception of what is reality or truth can, as we can see in this video, be fooled by those who find a way to use our patterns and culture to trick our brains into believing what they want us to believe. 

This is called advertising, but a famous quote by Andrew Carnegie from 1908  (as quoted by Napoleon Hill):  

‘The difference between advertising and propaganda is that with advertising, we know who paid for it” 

So, throughout history, many people were aware of how easily our brains can be tricked into believing nearly anything. 

So, what can we learn from this: 

I think we need to start to be humbler about how we come to believe what we believe and why we do what we think is right. 

 We may just be wrong. 

I’ve learned that the hard way and many of us do, too. 

My dear mom (she is currently 92 years old  and sadly failing) always said this:

“To know that we don’t know anything,  we need to be pretty smart” – Rosemarie Sauer (my dear mom)

Are you smart enough to know that we really know nothing?

Honestly, I often am not.

Here is what Buddha said about it (not sure if this quote is attributed correctly…) 

buddha quote-believe nothing-do you want to be happy or do you want to be right

The Same Process That Fooled Us In This Video May Be Foundational To Other Perceptions 

Muller believes the Ames illusion may have greater implications in life than just a trick of the eyes, saying:

“And I think we can extend this beyond science. I mean maybe the Ames illusions are a good metaphor for life. We feel as though we can directly perceive external reality like a person looking into an Ames Room, but the truth is there are an infinite number of different geometries that would all look the same. 

You know these days, a lot of people are getting the same fundamental information but coming to very different conclusions about the state of reality. So I think in that context, it's important to remember that something as simple as a little rotating picture can fool our brains in fairly spectacular ways.” 

My Personal Conclusion 

 I think a reasonable conclusion, give all this knowledge is this: 

  1. We need to be more tolerant and forgiving of other’s opinion 
  2. We may be wrong in what we think is the truthful and is reality 
  3. Free Speech is fundamental to a free society 
  4. There is no “true misinformation”, just different opinions voiced by different people with different backgrounds 

How often did I myself not honor these principles, whether that be in my marriage (just ask my husband if I like to be right...) 

Remember Dr. Phil: “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” 

I think that is the main decision we have to make these days more than ever. 

I personally want to be happy. It’s a struggle… 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments or reply to this post.

Feel free to share with friends and family...

About the author

Dr. Christine Sauer

Dr. Christine Sauer is a German-trained physician and naturopath, a Certified Brain Health Professional and Brain Trainer (Dr. Daniel Amen MD) as well as a gastrointestinal disease specialist, working as a Holistic Health
& Life Coach and Educator.
Her own struggles with chronic pain, weight loss, and mental health
issues have led her to dedicate her life to improving the overall health, gut health and the brain/mental health of others and enabling them to drop unwanted pounds, improve their parenting skills, overcome ADHD (develop laser-focus) and even grow their business - all with natural means, using strategies based in neuroscience combined with her own quirkiness, sense of humor, common-sense, love and care.
She wrote #1 bestselling books, speaks on stages (incl. a TEDx Talk) and lectures on these topics. She also coaches individuals, groups, and families. and teaches teenager on ourschool. As “The Doctor Who Knows How You Feel” she is known to make a lasting impression and positive difference in the lives of her clients, friends and followers. Main website: https://DocChristine.com

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