In my work with clients, the issue of perspectives comes up 
quite often.  Usually, I have to give my clients a quick 
refresher on what it is, and why it is pertinent to our 
discussion.  Being good at choosing perspectives is so helpful 
that I thought it worthy of an article.


What is a perspective?

The definition of perspective that fits best for my discussion 
is "a specific point of view in understanding or judging things 
or events."  Perspectives are not facts.  They can be completely 
true or completely false.  But they have huge influence over our 
lives.

To illustrate what I mean, one of my colleagues once had to 
address a problem with his work group where two individuals had 
completely different perspectives on each other, and were both 
rigid in their positions.  To illustrate the point that there 
are more than one way to look at something, my colleague had 
these two individual sit facing each other, then showed them a 
rubber ball and asked what color it was.  One person answered 
"red" and the other "black".  

As it turned out, both of them were correct because the ball was 
half black and half red.  From their respective perspectives, 
they were both right.  But from the other's perspective, they 
were both wrong.

What I am trying to convey is that there are often many, many 
different ways to look at a situation, and we can consciously 
choose what perspective we hold.  We can take that ball and 
choose the perspective that it is red, or it is black, or that 
it is half red and half black.


Why is that important?

Our perspectives have great influence over us because it impacts 
how we feel, how we think, and how we act.  In other words, 
perspectives can run our lives. 

Here's another story from ancient times:

A man walked into a quarry and ran across a worker.  He asked 
him, "What are you doing?"  The worker replied, "I am cutting 
stone."  The man walked on a while longer and ran across another 
worker, and asked him, "What are you doing?"  The worker said, 
"I am building a cathedral!"

How's that for different perspectives?  Both men were doing the 
same work.  Which one do you think was more inspired to go to 
work everyday?

So, when you are faced with a challenging task, do you want to 
think of it as cutting stone or building a cathedral?  Which 
perspective will motivate you, or empower you, or get you 
excited?   What kind of effect on the work product do you think 
these different perspectives will have?


What can I do?

So, here's my advice on using perspectives to your advantage.  
When you are in a funk, or you feel overwhelmed, or frustrated 
about something, here's what you do.

1.  Notice and tell yourself that you are in one particular 
    perspective.  Figure out what it is.  Is it the "I am in 
    over my head and can never get this right!" perspective?  
    Decide if this current perspective is helpful or not.  If 
    not...

2.  Think of a different perspective you can have about the 
    situation.  How about the "Big projects are made up of 
    little parts, so I can tackle one part at a time, and 
    before I know it, I'm done" perspective?

3.  Think about how you feel about the situation from this new 
    perspective.  Does it put you in a good frame of mind?

4.  If this one doesn't do it for you, try another one, and 
    another one, and another one until you land on one that 
    works.

5.  Once you've found the perspective that you like, choose it 
    and stay with it until you feel the need to change.


From this new powerful perspective, you can go out and build 
your cathedral.  You just have to choose it.

"The circumstances of the event will be essentially the same no 
matter what perspective you are in, AND your way of looking at 
the situation has enormous impact."  

So, set yourself up for success by being aware of what your 
perspective is and if it isn't useful to you, choose one that 
is more helpful.  Because the better your perspective, chances 
are, the better the outcome will be.

© 2004 Inez O. Ng