The world as we see it

“We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.” (Disputed origin) Anais Nin / Talmud

Everyone has their own perspective. That’s what makes the world so great. Everyone has the opportunity to find something they love in this world. I like when you share something you love with someone else, you create a connection with that person. I am all about creating connections with people. I enjoy it so much that sometimes I can’t see that there is any other way.

When I was in my twenties I had a roommate that I could connect with on various levels. However, I had a hard time understanding the way he saw the world when it came to some of his own experiences. For example, the company he worked for was going through layoffs one year and he was part of the layoffs. He had a plan. After being laid off, he moved his things back to his parent’s house and went backpacking through Europe. Before he left I had a talk with him about the experience he was planning. I couldn’t understand why he would want to backpack through Europe by himself. He would have no one with him to share his experience. I understand that people enjoy different things. I just couldn’t figure out why my good friend would prefer hiking through Europe by himself because it was such a foreign concept to me. I didn’t understand because I was seeing the world through my own eyes. My talk with him allowed me to see the world through his eyes. Although I can’t say I agreed with his approach, I understood that it worked for him even though it wouldn’t work for me.

I originally came across the quote above from a TED talks presentation by Kathryn Schulz. The presentation is called, “On being wrong.” Half way through her discussion, Kathryn starts in about people’s perspectives. Being wrong is all about perspective. Something is only wrong if it is wrong for you. Hence something that is wrong for you can be right for someone else. The presentation allows you to think about being (right or) wrong from a non-judgmental and non-traditional perspective. Also, being wrong allows you to grow. We learn more from being wrong than we do from being right. Feel free to watch a video of the presentation here: “On being wrong.”

So everyone has a different viewpoint or perspective. Do not judge, lest deny yourself the opportunity to really understand. We need to allow ourselves to judge less so that we may understand more. Really understanding someone can only be done when you can see the world through their eyes. The more you can see things through someone else’s eyes, the more you can understand. The more you understand, the more time you can spend being happy.

Coach Randal Suozzo, CPC, ELI-MP