What Perspective?

Are you stuck, or are you growing?

If you’ve ever watched The Matrix, the premise revolves around a society that lives in a reality that doesn’t exist. They go about their lives unaware that what they think is real is, in fact, an illusion.

While we might not live in a matrix controlled by energy-sucking robots, one aspect of the movie rings true for many of us: What we think we see isn’t always what it seems.

It’s always important to remember that what we see might not be accurate, which can limit our ability to think. In fact, we may be not seeing some things at all. It can be helpful to broaden your perspective so you see more. Perspective is limited by what we don’t see and what we don’t know.

Once you see and understand more, your thinking can change. I know, change is difficult, and many people are resistant to change. But remember the Matrix: To view things through a limited perspective is limiting, perhaps even blinding.

To a person who doesn’t like to deal with numbers, looking at a profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet of a company can be overwhelming. Unless you have a background in this kind of information, it won’t make much sense.

I recall the first time I was exposed to P&L statements; were it not for some accounting courses in college, I would have been totally lost in attempting to understand them. Because I had so little experience reading a P&L and balance sheet, I didn’t completely comprehend what they presented, and I actually considered them a waste of time!

Since I had come up through the ranks, I believed the real part of the business was out there in production and sales — not in a bunch of numbers that the “bean counters” came up with.

Of course, over time, my perspective shifted considerably. As I advanced into upper management, I learned how these statements could inform me of different aspects about the business, and how important they really are.

Looking back, it’s hard to admit how I was so resistant to such a wealth of information, which I now know is vital to running a large company.

Let’s look at some other perspective shifts we have already been through. As a child, we could see very little outside of our small world. The world was all about us and our needs. Then we entered school, and throughout the school years, we had regular perspective shifts as we learned and matured.

When we went off after high school to college or to work, our perspectives broadened even more. We could now see many things we hadn’t even considered when we were younger. We found out the world was about much more than our immediate needs. Then our appreciation of other people expanded tremendously.

As young adults, things like dating, driving a car, earning a paycheck, choosing the beginning of a course for life, marriage, children, saving for retirement, and so on became realities in our lives. If our perspectives did not continue to grow, change, and shift as we aged, we could not have matured.

So why do so many people eventually stop growing? As we age, we become more set in our ways. We unconsciously choose to limit our perspectives in many areas of life, so we can be more comfortable in knowing what we already know. When we stop learning, we stop growing. We quit exploring, preferring to maintain the status quo.

Are you stagnant or are you growing? How do you see yourself? Others? Their opinions? Are you stuck in some areas of your thinking? Perhaps some exploration into your existing perspectives and your willingness to change them will help you answer these questions.

©2020 BillAbbate.com

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