Do you find yourself worrying about things that really aren’t that important? Do you overreact to issues and wish you could have the opportunity to respond differently? Do you find yourself getting caught up in the frenzy of public opinion only to look back later and wonder what you were thinking?
The lack of perspective is the common element in each of these scenarios. Perspective is the capacity to view things in their true sense or relative importance. When we fail to accurately assess a situation or accurately weigh the importance of a matter, we quickly lose perspective and subject ourselves to problematic behavior.
To avoid losing perspective in key areas of life, we need to recognize the potential causes along with a corrective response. Here are a few of those causes and corrective responses for you to consider:
- • Lack of knowledge: When you have limited information on a matter, you may be prone to assume the worst possible outcome or prematurely draw wrong conclusions on a matter. A better response would be to ask more questions, seek more information, and acquire more understanding. Energy invested in gaining more knowledge and perspective will yield a much better return than excessive worry or overreaction.
- Lack of margin: When we are so busy in our lives that we have no time to reflect, no money for emergencies, no emotional energy to share, or no time to think, we will often fail to properly evaluate challenges of life. When we are running on empty, the slightest issue will seem like a mountain. We need to create and maintain margin in every area of our life to allow us to view things accurately and be able to respond as needed.
- Lack of wise counsel: Public opinion, popular views, and other’s opinions can be overvalued and wrong at times. Many of us listen too much to wrong voices. These voices are on social media, the media in general, or maybe just the voices in our lives. We all need trustworthy people in our lives to help us stay grounded and to see things clearly. Invest in those types of relationships, seek out trustworthy advisors, and find people you can trust.
- Lack of clarity: Many of us have not clearly defined our purpose, our goals, or ultimate desired destination in various aspects of our life. When we lack clarity, we can oftentimes misjudge the relative importance of issues, opportunities, or even people. Taking the time to clearly define our objectives or desired outcomes will provide us with the ability to properly assess the importance of events and people encounters along our path.
- Lack of healthy humility: Any time we expect too little or too much of ourselves, we can lose sight of values, convictions, and priorities. When we lack a healthy internal view of ourselves, we will oftentimes create unnecessary stress and unreachable expectations. However, when we have a clear understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, along with an understanding that we will make mistakes, we can pursue realistic desires and avoid harmful stress and unnecessary disappointment. An honest internal evaluation might be a good investment!
Perspective might just be what you need as we come to the end of year, continue in the holiday season, and enter a new year with new challenges and opportunities. You might be surprised at the impact you have by changing your perspective!
Which of the five perspective killers noted above do you need to address in your life?
