By: Gayle Abbott
What can a change in perspective do for your life? Can it help you see something you didn’t see before? Can it make things clearer? Can it give you a fresh start? Can it help you grow and use more of your natural talents?
Our perspective has a significant influence on what we see, how we see things and what we do. This has been reinforced over and over for me. The game “Whirly Word” on my iPad has become a great analogy for me. Interestingly enough, it isn’t something I ever would have looked for or considered but a client mentioned it to me and I decided to give it a try. Being open to their suggestion has given me an experience I wouldn’t have actually pursued or found on my own. Why you may ask – because my natural inclination is to read books not play games.
Yet, this “game” has triggered my thinking. In the game, you are given 6 letters. You have to find all the words that they have found. Some words are easy to see, others are not. Sometimes, it feels like you can’t or won’t ever find the words. In order to keep from starting over you have to move from a red line of progress to a green line. And, if you want the maximum “score” you have to get 100% of the words.
So, what are the insights from this game:
• Sometimes the words are easy to see. To me these represent the things in your life that are familiar and come easily to you. Have you identified those things in your life? If not, take a few minutes and jot them down.
• Sometimes just “whirling” the wheel enables you to see a different combination of letters allowing you to see a word. Just a slight turn of perspective can enable us to see things we hadn’t seen before. This might come from an experience, an interaction, or even tilting our head in a different way. Notice when you have a chance to see something differently. What can you learn? How can you benefit?
• Sometimes you have to walk away to clearly see the options. Sometimes we can get so mired in what we’re doing, what we think, how we’re being or even how we think we’re expected to be that we don’t see all our options or the “gifts” we have that are hidden in plain sight. So, we need to walk away. We need to stop trying to make something happen and take a breather. For some that might be working in the garden or taking a walk or doing something with their hands vs. their mind and the list of possibilities goes on. There is not one “right way” to walk away – but there can be our “right way” and that is totally different. So how do you “walk away” when you get stuck? Or, are you trying to plow through and getting frustrated? How could a change of perspective enable you to get clear so you move forward easily and effortlessly?
• Sometimes we have to ask for help. Sometimes there have been foreign words or words I’d never run into and was totally unfamiliar with. In those cases, I’ve found that seeking help from someone else or a “word” site makes the answers clear. Where in your life do you need to work or collaborate with others to grow and learn something new? Where do you have the opportunity to benefit from the gifts and resources of another source to help you expand and grow and move forward?
• And sometimes, no matter what you do, you’re stuck and can’t find a word. Then, you can choose not to spend any more time on that puzzle (assuming you have a green line) and just take the hit to your score. Sometimes we need to walk away to move into our “sweet spot”. It isn’t a failure, it’s just wise judgement. Before taking this step, ask yourself: Have I given it my very best? Are there other alternatives? Are there things I should be doing instead that are a higher and better use of my time today?
So where do you need a change of perspective? Where would you benefit by stepping away and looking at something differently? How can you build having a change of perspective into your everyday life and experiences? How might you benefit?