An Analysis on Perspective

Something that I love to say is, “We all have blind spots in life. Sometimes, we need someone else’s perspective to see things that are blind to us.” And it’s true- perspective is a key element of life that we often overlook, but it’s incredibly important. What we say to people, how we present ourselves, whether intentional or not, is the only picture they get of us. No one can see all that is hidden within you or what you experience in your daily life. Your presentation of yourself becomes someone’s full perspective of you. In other words, you paint a picture of what you want people to see, and they view it.

Think about this classic, shining example. Someone comes into a store and begins unjustifiably yelling at the salesclerk. They are immediately noted as someone who is “mean” or “unfriendly”. Their actions are the only glimpse we get into who they are, so we immediately perceive them as “ugly” or even a “bad” person for how they reacted. But, within, they could have just found out that their mother passed away. They could be living through the worst day of their life, and the only part of themselves they showed was this rageful being. But that’s not who they are. It’s a small part of who they can be under different circumstances. And it’s true. We perceive ourselves in a full picture, as a 3D human being. Most of the world views us 2 dimensionally- they come to conclusions on who we are solely by the snippets about ourselves we choose to give to them.

My Most Recent Experience in the Realm of Perspective

Here’s a prime example of this that rocked my world. When I was in Exploration 27, I was periodically giving my trainers bits and pieces of who I am when I was asked questions or when a specific topic arose. Despite being a strong storyteller on paper, I am not the best at communicating vocally, so unless prompted, I can accidentally leave out a lot of information.

Only I know that I work three regular jobs on top of my independent work as both a writer and a filmmaker. Only I know that I begin work at 8am most days only to finish anytime between 9pm and midnight. Only I know that, while I do travel the world and live the life of my dreams, it’s only possible because of my hard work and dedication. So, when I chose to answer questions about myself, I focused on the positives. I talked about my work traveling the world as a writer and getting to attend press trips. I talked about the archaeological and scientific expeditions that I volunteer on. I talked about the joy getting to visit strange locations around the world brings me for my travel show Weird World Adventures. I painted this wild and free picture without realizing I, inadvertently, left out all the structure, the slaving away at my computer, and the longer-than-normal workdays to pave the way for all the good things I want to come in. It wasn’t intentional, I just naturally like to talk about what makes me happy, not all the hard work I put in.

Because of this, one morning, I was speaking with one of my trainers, and she said to me, “I am so envious that you can just freely live your life doing whatever you want to do when you want to do it.” It was a kind, touching statement, but it made me realize how what I chose to speak on about my life does make it look carefree, as if I’m just jumping from whim to whim, when, in fact, yes, I DO live the life that I want. I always make sure that I can, but it comes with hard work, dedication, and a lot of behind-the-scenes magic to pull it off. But I hadn’t thought to mention that part, so I came off as a different person to her because of the words and stories I chose to tell her about myself.

She doesn’t know that I work 3 jobs to make everything happen so I can live that way, but all the same, that fourth life that I do present to everyone is incredible and envy-worthy. But it’s only one side, the side I let people see. But the fact that I can live the way I want because I’m working so hard for it is something to be proud of, not something to hide- whether intentional or not. I thought on this for the rest of my retreat. In the end, people see what we allow them to see. So, I challenge you to meditate on this one day. Stop and really visualize what you allow people to see. How do you present yourself to others through your daily actions?

It taught me such a great lesson. Perspective is key. People do not get our whole picture unless we paint it for them. So, what we say to them, how we act around them, and how we present ourselves to them not only tells them who we are, it’s all we get. I know this seems like a basic concept, but until I really saw it at play, I never fully grasped it.