Part I: Three truths about Perspective.

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“The smallest change in perspective can transform a life.”  ~ Oprah Winfrey

Course Adjustment

If a pilot set an aircraft for the six-hour flight from Los Angeles California to JFK International Airport in New York and doesn’t adjust the flight controls for the duration of the flight, the aircraft will soon land in Miami Florida, over 1,500 miles south of its intended destination.  Despite advances in aircraft avionics systems, pilots are still needed to continually monitor aircraft movement and perform course adjustments for planes to arrive at their correct destination. Failure to do so will lead to an aircraft heading to the wrong destination. Course adjustment corrects the drift caused by forces such as wind and gravitational pull, making sure the aircraft remains on the right course.

Like an aircraft, we can agree that there are many forces that makes us drift from our intended goals and purposes in life. Similar to a pilot who performs course corrections, to achieve our goals and live our purpose we also must take the pilot seat in our life and routinely make course adjustments. The one thing that has helped me to remain on the right path and stick with what’s important, which I believe can help you as well to make adjustments that enables you remain on track to your success in life is to maintain the right perspective. Without proper view of where you are and where you’re going, it is impossible to make course adjustments.

It takes Art

I define perspective as the ability to assess the nature of something, get to a conclusion, and develop a mental image that acts as a reference point. Have you ever looked at a painting or a drawing and thought, “Wow! whoever painted or drew it was amazing”? The reason why art becomes great is because it brings out the true meaning of something, whether by visual, auditory or performing artifacts.  Since perspective is drawing conclusions that is expressed as a mental image, it requires you to be a good artist to have a good perspective in life that will always give you an advantage.

The truth is we all have experience when it comes to perspective. We are continually drawing on the canvas of our minds, images that affect how we do things. What is also true is that we all can improve the quality of our perspective; we can improve how we perceive life. My desire is through this blog and many that will follow, to equip you so that you can have the best perspective in life that will lead you to success. Today I am sharing with you three truths about perspective. Here they are; 

1.    Your perspective is a product of your attitude

If you have ever attended a concert or sports match in a huge auditorium or stadium, you must have been very deliberate on choosing the best seat for the best view of the performance. Consciously or unconsciously you understood one thing, where you sat determined your outlook or viewpoint. This in turn determined your view of the performance. Being in a big auditorium watching a performance on the stage is synonymous to how you live life. Just as where you seat in the auditorium determines how well you view what’s happening on stage, your mental viewpoint or attitude will determine how you perceive life. In other words, your attitude defines your perspective or view of life. 

How can you assure that your mental posture or attitude is at its best? By positioning yourself mentally in the same manner you choose the best place to sit in an auditorium. To elevate your attitude, first, consider carefully the information you are consuming. If you are feeding your mind with negativity then your outlook will be impaired, and you will always have poor perspective. Second, find experiences that foster boldness in you to see far. I attend events with like-minded people who encourage me to see beyond my present conditions and pursue my wildest dreams. I believe that despite what we have experienced in the past, we can improve our attitude or outlook and thereby improve our perspective as we face life.

Keep in mind that your attitude defines your perspective and your perspective shapes who you are.

Your mental viewpoint or attitude will determine how you perceive life.

2.     Your perspective shapes your reality.

Is it possible to have a lot of money in the bank and still be unhappy?  Can a person be in a room full of people and still feel lonely? The answer is yes. Most of the time we miss to see the true magnitude of things because of a blurry perspective. Other times we have accurate weather perspective which leads us to better understand things and we end up successful.

It’s not what others think of you that limits you, rather it’s how you think and see yourself that does. If you see yourself as small and inferior, you will always find excuses not to try what you perceive to be above you. But when you see yourself as capable and gifted, then you will always do things that are beyond your means. It’s also true that what you look for is what you find. So, if your view or perspective is positive, your environment will be filled with positivity. When your perspective is always negative then all that surrounds you will be negative.

Wayne Dyer once said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” He understood that perspective shapes our reality. Therefore, always keep in mind that your world is a rest of your perspective.

It’s not what others think of you that limits you, rather it’s how you think and see yourself that does.

3.     Your perspective determines your impact.

The difference between how an excellent person does things and an average person is based on how they view things. An excellent person’s perspective allows him or her to view things from the excellence angle. While an average person views what he or she is supposed to do as average. This is the basis of the statement, how you view things determine how you do things. A classic example of how perspective makes a difference is in the epic battle of David and Goliath. While others saw the giant Goliath and became immobilized, David saw what he had in his hands, a slingshot and five smooth stones, that he could use to make a difference.

Perspective will determine your impact in two major ways. First, it will determine if you find solutions and possibilities where others only see problems and hindrances. Second, it will determine if you are a leader or a follower. People with good perspective take on leadership and tend to see before others, further than everyone else, and they see more than everyone else. Poor perspective only reduces your visibility and makes you focus only on yourself. Therefore, to be among those who have the greatest impact, those who find solutions in every problem and lead others to victory, choosing a good perspective is the way to do it.

Choosing a good perspective is the way to increase your capacity to find solutions and increase your impact.

What’s Next….

Today we have seen that at the root of perspective is attitude. Our perspective affects our interaction with the world, and how we see determines how impactful we will be. I challenge you today to evaluate your attitude and determine if it’s helping you to have the right perspective. If it’s not, change it. Next week we will look at ‘The Power of Perspective’.

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