Why Perspective is Essential to Connection

We all need to keep in mind that Perspective is a skill that we need to develop in order to get better. It is not something that is inherited or given to us. We all have different perspectives in life and it all depends on your own experiences. 

It is a great idea to recognize that all things are not as they seem. There was a story of a group of blind men who never came across an elephant before and they were told to touch the elephant to conceptualize what an elephant is. Some say that an elephant is a tree trunk because of its leg,  some say it feels like palm leaves because of its ears, and some say that it was a thick snake because of its trunk.

Another example of this is an image you see down below. From the first glimpse of this picture we either see an old or young lady that is depicted. We all have our first impression with this image and if this was your first time seeing this it is not possible to see both at the same time, it is either one or the other because of our perspective. 

Young Woman, Old Woman

This is exactly the same thing with our own perspective and beliefs in life. When we are too closed off with our mind we aren’t able to connect and see the other people’s perspective. We become limited and we start to think that our own perspective is the only right thing out there. 

This is what we call “Ego”

Our ego is when we tell ourselves I am always right, I am the best all the time and no one else can be better than me or the other side of the ego which is not easily identified where we start to feel more victimized than the others. For example, if you are someone who had a terrible past experience and a bad childhood, you start to tell others your problems and adversities in life were greater. It is these extreme beliefs that made us miss out with different ideas and this is extremely foolish and asinine because it stops us immaturely and we don’t get to see the others’ perspective.

In my own experience, this is the reason why I learn not to judge, label, or make an assumption with other’s ideas, beliefs, or values because once we set a label with it instantly, we lose that connection with others. For instance, some people may say that living in an X country is the worst place to live in. This is something I mostly hear from others because of their own experience, but I can’t have an opinion unless I actually experience living there or at least visit. Similar with people that say this nationality or ethnicity are rude or impolite because of what they heard from others. 

With these examples, we need to ask ourselves: have we been to these places, and is it true that these specific nations or people of certain ethnicities are rude or impolite?

The first step in overcoming this thinking is to first acknowledge our own ego with this mentality. It all starts from within us. In order to genuinely connect with other people we need to start building our perspective and this will lead to a better understanding and empathy. We must extend the definition of truth and not limit ourselves with just our own perspective. Sometimes our guard is always up and doesn't have time to communicate properly.

There is a great quote saying, “we listen to reply, not to understand.” Let’s ask ourselves, are we really there to understand this individual or are we just waiting to reply and serve our ego?

Let’s allow ourselves to explore different ideas even if we disagree and this will give us more perspective.