My mom has always called me “an old grandma.”
Seriously. Since I was a toddler, this has been my mom’s nickname for me. Somehow I’ve been blessed with a unique outlook that has been beyond my years from even when I was small. I am moved by the human experience, and have an immense compassion for, as well as intuitive understanding of people and why we do what we do.
This is evident in one of the special gifts I have which is the ability to see from different perspectives.
It has been an integral piece in mastering the art of my life and I am grateful to help to do the same.
My cousin recently shared one of my uncle’s favorite stories of me when I was probably around 3 and he was visiting us from Finland.
He said I quietly stood in his room and watched him pack, and then suddenly said, “It’s so sad to see someone you love packing to go away.”
When I was 21 and living in Jasper, I was asked if I would model in a lingerie show for a ladies night. Somehow stammered yes.
I remember someone asked why I said yes when I felt so shy and insecure, and my response was: “I may never look like this again, and I know when I get older I’ll regret not enjoying it.”
The person who asked me was shocked and said I shouldn’t say things like that, but I knew on a deep level that it was true. I understood that I would have regretted not appreciating my beauty and youth while I had it because I knew it was only for a short period of my life.
Both of the above stories are examples of a shift in perspective of from ‘I’ to a wider view.
The first one is from a ‘we’ perspective and the latter is from the ‘looking back’ perspective which I will explain in a moment.
Sometimes we get stuck with how to proceed because we are only seeing it from the perception of “I” and how we personally are feeling about it in the moment.
Although our singular perspective is true for us, it is incomplete and gaining a wider perspective helps us understand the situation more fully.
Taking other perspectives, provides a wider view to see more angles of any situation creating deeper insights than just looking from ours alone.
And THAT my friend, can propel us into courageous action!
Here’s 3 that you can use on your own to get out of your own way and get moving:
1) View of ‘we’.
Experience the whole system of ‘we’ from the inside out. This is a perspective of how the situation affects us as a whole. This is the story of my uncle and I when he was leaving.
2) Fly on the wall.
Look from “the fly on the wall” perspective of everyone involved, or even anyone from the outside looking in.
3) Looking back.
Imagine yourself far into the future looking back at this situation as a whole. I used this perspective in the Jasper modeling show.
As always, I love hearing from you and would love to know what you do to get out of your own way! You can post your comments below.
If you liked this post, please share it on Facebook, Tweet it out loud, or forward to all of your friends! Knowledge isn’t just power, its freedom, and we can be the vehicles of change for each other.
Thank you for being the courageous woman that you are.
I believe that when we clarify what we truly want for ourselves, how we want to feel, and the world we are creating, we can positively impact our lives and our world. Why? Because women who are happy are better leaders, mothers, partners and friends and are able to positively influence the people around them. We are the change!