Its all about the perspective

Look up at the sky during the night. You see stars and the moon. Now hold up your thumb in front of your eye in such a way that it blocks a small portion of the sky for you. What is blocked is just a tiny patch of the sky, right? Right. But given what we know about the size of the universe, the tiny portion of the sky that is hidden from your view by the thumb might be hiding entire groups of galaxies with billions of stars and maybe worlds with intelligent life. That is right. Projected ahead from your eyes, the angle of vision increases and over a distance of light years it becomes big enough to accommodate a vast portion of the universe.

Closer home we have all heard the story of the blindfolded men surrounding an elephant. Depending on which part of the elephant they touch they think it to be a pillar, a rope or a snake and argue till someone removes heir blindfolds. 

What do these two things have in common? They both underline the importance of perspective. In the first case it is the distance that prevents one from seeing what one is missing and in the second case, it is the individual position that determines the view of each person. 

Relate this to all our opinions and views and we realize that the way we see people, things and life itself is determined largely by our perspective. While it is only natural and necessary for each person to have an individual perspective it is equally important to realize that what we see is only from an individual perspective. This realization is the first step to understanding and empathizing with others.

A slight shift in perspective is always a good thing when there is a stalemate. It does not mean abandoning your own point of view but being able to understand the situation holistically. Once we are able to understand why other people think the way they do, it becomes easier for us to convince them of our own point of view because then their thinking process is easier for us to understand.

Basically, it involves the following steps -

1. Understanding that our own opinions come from our unique perspective on the topic.

2. Understanding that our's is just one of the many possible perspective on the topic and that each individual has a unique perspective.

3. Understanding the perspective of the other person by putting our-self in their shoes.

4. Appreciating the situation from their perspective and getting the holistic picture.

5. Addressing the concerns that may be arising from their perspective.

While doing this, it is necessary to be not only able but also to be willing to see things from another perspective. Essentially we need to put aside our own prejudices and biases to do this and that is the toughest part because often the ego comes into play.

The ability to appreciate the other person's perspective is a unique gift that helps us to assess a situation accurately and take right decisions. More than anyone this ability is essential for a person in a leadership position or aspiring to be a leader.

So the next time you are tempted to get into an argument, remember that your perspective is just one of the many and appreciate that it is all about the perspective.