The Power of Perspective
I recently read a book where the protagonist dies by suicide, is able to flit through a multiverse of different lives that could have been hers, and ultimately chose to resume her old life. She was able to experience alternative lives where she had made different decisions, could see the outcomes, and decide if she wanted to stay in that other version permanently. She would go through decision points of her life that she felt were salient to her tragic life and find out that the fantasy of where she would be if she had made a different choice was far from the reality she thought would come. Nothing that she thought would make her happy did; each alternative “solution” brought on problems of its own.
Each life she tried on contributed to her appreciation for her old life, the very life she once felt only had a permanent solution. Over time, her perspective would shift as what she thought would make her happy didn’t do so. It was the vantage point with potential that changed everything for her. One day, she sees no way forward and eventually she finds hope. Hope makes all the difference in that exact situation she previously needed to get away from.
That perspective struck me because it can truly be a small shift that can open a world of possibilities. Like how the beam of a flashlight in total darkness can make things just a little bit better. Perspective is a powerful tool because it’s one we can always seek to find. We don’t always know where to look, but anything and everything can open our eyes a little bit wider.
It makes me think about how some people see a problem not as a hurdle to overcome, but a literal stop sign. When an obstruction crosses their path, they can be fixed in their mindset and not consider alternative routes- or if they were even on the right path to begin with. It makes me think about how much of our mindset can be in our control if we want it to be. When I’m annoyed at the traffic on my way to work, I can be frustrated that everyone on the road is an idiot or I can appreciate that I don’t have a specific time to arrive in the office so there’s no way I can be “late”. I can appreciate the extra song or minutes of my podcast that I get to enjoy.
Not all things can be changed with a mindset and it would be ludicrous to suggest that this is a one-size-fits-all tactic. But when you focus on what is within your locus of control, I think a lot of us would find that there’s more options available to us. The more options we can see, the more we can consider and the stronger our outcomes can be. Stronger in that they contribute to the healthiest version of ourselves. If what they say is true about stress living in the body, the more we can reduce that in healthy, productive ways, the better.
This is not a bid to create a world with more optimists, though I think optimists tend to see more options. I think I would prefer realists; those who can access the real options in front of them and determine the best course of action through that visibility. Perspective can limit the ability to see what’s right in front of you or it can shine the brightest you’ve ever seen.