For the past year I have been rigorously representing 34000 students, balancing school, meetings, events, all while trying to identify who Maximus Simmons truly is. Through this I have identified one key element in what it means to understand oneself. Perception. Well what is perception? Perception is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression. Through our experiences and challenges life brings and the way we perceive and deal with these problems or go about these experiences builds an Index or Inventory of responses that we subconsciously pick when dealing with a situation. For example if a teacher wrongfully accuses you of speaking, most people pick their response instantly without thinking, that response comes from that inventory. But how is one supposed to change this inventory and create a new after years and years of building these habits through maybe trauma, a bad relationship, or even frequent stereotyping. I believe the first step is identifying your current index of habits and reactions, reflecting on the way you react to a rainy day after hoping it would be sunny, your body language when someone asks you for a favor, or your response to micro aggression. There are 2 types of mindsets after identifying these habits. Fixed and Growth. Fixed mindsets say things like, “this is how I've always been.” and “I can't help it.” While a Growth mindsets says things like, “I will try.” And “How can I be better next time?” But how do we develop and practice these new habits or reactions? Think about it like cooking. There are always different ways to cook a chicken, But you first must seek the desire to learn a different recipe and understand, even though you may have been using this same recipe your entire life that there are other and even better recipes out there. Here's a question. What differentiates a 1 star restaurant from a 5 star restaurant? The owner of the 1 star restaurant might blame their lack of customers on the restaurant's location and the fact it's a bad area, or maybe their staff and their lack of effort. While the 5 star restaurant owner, focuses on their restaurant and how he could improve the ins and outs of his establishment to make it a more memorable experience for his customers despite the bad area. Further contributing to not only their restaurant but also the area simultaneously by focusing on himself and his perception of his situation rather than the situation itself. I am writing this to remind and/or help anyone that wants to change their reactions and habits. It is never too late and will never be a dramatic change that happens in one day. Just like cooking it takes time, and you may never be perfect but as long as you are trying, you are improving. It is not your situation it is how you perceive and then react to your situation. You define your character, not your circumstances, environment, or upbringing.