Why You Need To See Anew & Find Another Perspective
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Communication, Diversity & culture
Photo Credit: Frank Reitz Flickr via Compfight cc
Even though you know that today’s problems won’t get resolved by the same approaches you’ve taken in the past …
Even though you know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (attributed to Albert Einstein) …
Even though you know all this, you still find yourself banging your head against the wall when that frustrating colleague is late with his report … again.
And you still find yourself reacting the same ol’ same ol’ way to your partner when he forgets to bring home the milk like he said he would …. again.
Even though you know it’s important to take another look, to gain a new perspective …
It’s tough to actually do that.
Photo Credit: Amy McTigue Flickr via Compfight cc
It’s harder than trying to put a pair of pants on a 2 year old who doesn’t want to get dressed.
It’s harder than staying cool & collected when your teenager gives you ‘that’ look – the one that manages to convey with a raised eyebrow & a slight sneer, that you know nothing & you’re ridiculous.
Yep gaining a new perspective it’s haaaaard.
And ….
It doesn’t have to be.
Next week I’ll share 5 easy ways to take another look, create a new perspective & to shed some light on tenacious, sticky problems.
But first, before we take another look, a peek at possibilities, a gateway to novel solutions, let’s talk baggage. Yours, ours & theirs.
We all come with baggage.
CC licensed prof use
And yet while other people’s baggage is often easy to id, seeing our own is elusively difficult.
Our baggage is based on lots of things, which all come together to form a very unique perspective – yours. Your perspective is as unique as your fingerprint. It’s a powerful potent combination of:
- your age
- your gender
- the language(s) you speak
- your family culture
- your organizational culture
- where you live
- your ethnicity
- your religious/spiritual beliefs
- your physical abilities & more
All of the above intertwine to create your culture, which Gerd Hofstede beautifully defines as the collective programming of the mind that divides us into groups.
How can we break free?
Given that we have a strong tendency, even an urge, to look at things the way we always have & given that our culture tends to keep our perspective locked in tightly without us even knowing it, how can we break free?
Photo Credit: www.ilkkajukarainen.fi Flickr via Compfight cc
Next week I’ll demonstrate 5 simple approaches to enlarging your perspective. Stay tuned- they have to do with my discovering a mystery eye, light bulbs, a magical kingdom, Bluetooth & a real live lion.
Annnnnnd take action
- Check out more of my blog posts on culture
- Sort out some ways your culture affects your view & let me know by leaving a comment below.
Tags: baggage, culture, gerd hofstede, perspective
November 22nd, 2017 at 5:44 pm
[…] Last week I made the case for Why You Need To See Anew & Find Another Perspective. […]