Hi Friends,
I’m glad you are here this week.
Did you know your perspective dictates the outcome of your actions? That is the way our brain works.
But is our perspective the best?
In this newsletter:
We are surrounded by other perspectives.
Manipulating your perspective. works in your favor.
Intentionally seeking out other perspectives.
Each person represents a different perspective.
“Each person does see the world in a different way. There is not a single, unifying, objective truth. We're all limited by our perspective.” -Siri Hustvedt
Let’s take Hustvedt’s thought one step further. Not only do each of us see the world differently, but we are each capable of different perspectives.
Those different perspectives may come to us over time. Experiences like our mistakes or the tragedies we survive change our perspective, as can gratitude. What we think one day may not be the same the next.
After 20 years of teaching at the elementary level, I defined myself as an elementary teacher. A move to a new city and state found me with no prospects for an elementary teaching position. With great trepidation, I took a preschool teaching job. I did not consider myself a preschool teacher - diapers, potty training, nonverbal students (except for crying). A year in preschool had me loving the job. It became one of my favorite teaching experiences to date, and my perception of my abilities changed.
Perspectives may shift in moments. Think of holding an item and looking at it from different angles. Does it change what you see?
When I’m shopping for old frames, my eye is caught by what I perceive as age. Then I turn the frame over and clearly see it’s not age. The front has been made to look old. My perception changed in the few seconds it took to look at the other side.
As we move through our day, we must remember the existence of the many perspectives, whether ours or someone else’s.
You can manipulate your perspective to work in your favor.
“I like to turn things upside down, to watch pictures and situations from another perspective.” -Ursus Wehrli
Why is this picture upside-down?
Artists know about perspective. They use perspective while creating and as a means to convey their message.
In my art class, we drew this chickadee. The photo above shows the perspective we used. We turned the photo upside down and drew the lines to divide the photo. Each section gave us more perspective for placement. But upside down? I was skeptical.
The teacher explained that the upside-down perspective removed what we thought we would see, allowing us to see what was actually there. The brain has a preconceived notion of what the bird should look like, and this notion gets in the way of recreating what it really looks like. That is a mind-blowing but illuminating thought.
By manipulating your perspective, you can move beyond your preconceived notions and what you think is true to what is actually there. It’s like standing in another person’s shoes in an effort to understand them.
Do you intentionally seek out different perspectives?
Sometimes, we need a new perspective to find our way to what we want.
A different job
Weight loss
New friends
To be better at (fill in the blank)
We get stuck thinking we have tried everything and nothing has worked. But have we tried everything?
Sometimes we don’t know what to do. We don’t know that another perspective might work for us. We may fear other perspectives.
When my art teacher handed out the chickadee photo, I thought, “I’m not going to finish this.” I was speaking from experience. I get so caught up in capturing the details I take my time drawing (and erasing) for precision. I walk out of class with incomplete work. Or worse, I finish thinking that it’s not a great piece of art anyway and knowing it will go in my “I tried” pile, never to be seen again.
But this time, I finished my drawing with time to walk around to look at my fellow students’ work.
This is how my chickadee turned out.
Maybe I need to turn my thoughts “upside-down” more often.
7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:
It’s good to try a new way to see a situation. We fight the notion of turning things “upside-down” to take a different perspective. We don’t want to believe that there is a better way. (I was so ready to draw that chickadee right side up.)
It’s good to make a mental note of your effort to change your perspective. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.
A quote: “Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality.” -Jen Sincero. (If you are interested, I am writing more about this in my upcoming edition of From The Pen’s Nib.)
It’s good to flip the negative thoughts our brains are wired for into their positive counterparts. I recently expressed disappointment to myself about who was opening my newsletter to read. Then I thought, over 50% of you open it to read. That’s considered a good rate. I didn’t need to be disappointed about the specifics of who was opening. I can’t control that.
This short article explains what changing your perspective can do for you.
I’m grateful for experiences that have obvious lessons.
Do you want to try a similar drawing exercise? This lesson used the familiar grid drawing technique. Try it and see what you think.
Thank you for reading. Try something to turn your world upside-down for a new perspective.
Until next time,
💚
Susan
Have you ever experienced a single event that changed your perspective? Did you try the drawing exercise? Leave a comment and tell me about it.
If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it.
If you are a new reader of Pen to Paper, welcome! I’m glad to have you here. Consider subscribing.
If this newsletter is just not for you, it’s OK to unsubscribe (at the bottom of the email).
I have a 2nd newsletter! It is about journaling. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested, check it out at From The Pen’s Nib: A Commonplace Book About Journaling.
"The teacher explained that the upside-down perspective removed what we thought we would see, allowing us to see what was actually there." I love love love this example, Susan. It has so many applications in life. This inspires me tremendously. Thank you.
"We are all limited by our perspective" was a difficult realization about reality for me. The reality we know is largely created by agreed upon parts of individuals perspectives.
Or from shared reactions to the external world.
There is something to the agreed upon part though- where we synchronize brain waves while interacting . In these points of connection there is a lot that is beautiful - and to be greatful for
Loved this edition Susan