Our mental filters are just what they sound like – filters our brain uses to process input.  As our brain receives information, the intended meaning of that information may be changed by our filters so that the result is not the same as the original intention.  The way we will interpret the information is dependent on our own personal filters.  Everyone has different filters that will affect how the input reaches the brain.  The filters will cause your brain to do one of three things – delete, distort, generalize.

Our filters come from different sources that compromise the total sum of our experiences.  As we learn about and make decisions about the world, we come to expect there to be certain patterns that will occur and that causes will lead to effects.