What's Your Viewing Point?

Change Perspectives to Change Your Life

Last Saturday I had one of those conversations with my husband that started out with tension and miscommunication, and ended with me feeling light, relaxed, and wishing we'd "talked it out" many months before! Ever have one of those? You have an issue that you're struggling with, and get so focused on it that you lose sight of everything else.

Alas the issue was finances, and rather than quote the statistics on how many couples fight about money, I'll just assume that you probably know what I'm talking about! We had become too focused on that aspect of our lives, and lost sight of who we really were, what we enjoyed about each other, and what we hoped to accomplish as a couple. One fruitful conversation, a new viewing point, and my whole outlook on life shifted in a moment. It was about time!

So how do you get a new viewing point? In my example, it took a change in environment (we moved to the porch), stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, and a willingness to hear each other's perspective and find a common ground. Once we had a new context to view things in and reconnected with each other and with the bigger picture, the day to day details looked completely different. Whether you're dealing with a relationship issue, a creative block, a business problem, or simply want to come to terms with where you are at the moment, there are simple guidelines that can help you find that new vantage point.

Next time you find yourself trapped in a perspective that isn't working for you, try one of the ideas below and see what happens.

Change the Scene ... Change rooms, change seats, find new background music, turn on a different light, walk around the block
Change the Issue ... Turn it upside down, backwards, put it in a new context or environment, see how it fits into the big picture
Change Your Heart ... Pray, meditate, call a friend and share your feelings
Change Yourself ...Stretch, get a snack or a drink, take a jog, take a shower
Change the Medium ...Use a piece of paper instead of a computer, sing or write instead of talking, draw instead of writing ... you get the idea.

Enjoy trying out new viewing points, and check out the links below if you're looking for a few new ways to see things!