Hi everyone, Vijay asked what was on my mind this week and my answer was “finding a fresh perspective”. Being a good friend, he suggested that I take the pen this week thinking that writing this would help me find that perspective! That’s one way to look at how I ended up here. A different perspective suggests that I fell into one of several psychological tricks to get people to do what you want. In this case, ask when someone is tired, and they are less likely to say no! If you haven’t read about psychological tricks to influence people, I highly suggest a Google search. There are several lists, and they are fascinating: likely a topic for a different blog.
For now, let’s get back to “perspective,” which is simply our point of view, easily influenced by internal and external factors. It’s entirely within our control, so changing mine should be easy, right? I simply need to think about things differently. Perhaps, the person who didn’t seem accountable for a work assignment didn’t understand their responsibilities? Maybe the person that procrastinated, causing critical deadlines to be missed, didn’t understand the impacts? Possibly, what appears to be someone’s lack of work effort, is an indicator that person has bigger issues they are dealing with? Perhaps, taking time to understand their points of view will help troubleshoot and resolve the problem. Instead of looking at these events as obstacles to completing a work goal, perhaps I should view them as opportunities to help colleagues be successful, which ultimately benefits everyone.
So, it turns out Vijay was right (for once! 😊); I did find a fresh perspective by writing this! I just needed to remember that everyone brings their own perspectives and life issues, and sometimes things happen. I’ll take this energy back into my day and see what I can do to change things. And if I’m not successful today, no worries, since tomorrow is always another day! Make sure your hope is an anchor, not a ship sailing away, and I promise, your perspective on life will be better because of it.
“Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” – C. S. Lewis
How will you find a fresh perspective this weekend?
-Helene