What is Perspective?

Welcome back!

Perspective is how you view the world! It is like a pair of magical glasses. It shapes our understanding of everything in our world and tells us how to interpret it. It is the classic story about a half glass of water. Is the glass half full or half empty?? If we can put on a new pair of perspective glasses whenever we want to, everyday and everything can be better for us.

 

You took a day off from work. You planned a nice day at the beach with the family, but the weather took a turn; it was overcast and windy. So much for the beach! But you put on your new perspective glasses. Now you see a perfect day for flying a kite and still having fun with the family.

 

A single mother just lost her job of 5 years due to department layoffs. She is franticly trying to use her connections to get hired back into the company under any department. She puts on her new perspective glasses, and she sees the company that laid her off used to be 20 minutes away from her home before the divorce, but now, after the divorce she has been driving an hour each way everyday to this job. With the new perspective glasses she realizes she is free to get a job much closer to home.

 

You may ask, “Where can I buy these new magical perspective glasses?” Well no store sells them! The great news is you can make your own. Pay attention to your perspective anytime you see yourself trapped in bad perspective. Shift your focus to a better point of view. For a more Practical Technique: Try to write out the situation from a third person point of view. Avoid using words like “I” and “me” because these word put your point of view back into the story. Write out all the thoughts and interpretations that went on in “his” or “her” head. This takes you out of the situation and removes your emotion. 

 

Giovanna Garcia