Game of Perspective
The last few months have been pretty intense for me. A lot of things have changed; some by effort and planning and others because of compulsion. One of the things I have really started to explore is how to understand the perspective of another person. I have started writing regularly for the last month or so, in order to understand alternate perspectives on the same topic. This article is an attempt to explore this topic in more depth and hopefully, find something useful.
Every person's life is different; their upbringing, culture, tradition, beliefs and circumstances. I had written about the same in a previous article. If this is the case, something that we do might not be acceptable to another person. Similarly, our line of thought may not make sense to another person.
How can we ensure multiple people collaborate together to achieve a single goal?
There are some sub-questions as well: How do you train a person to see an alternate perspective that may hold the key to unite the team members? How do you convince the person to accomodate multiple perspectives?
Let us consider an example: Four people are watching a movie on TV. Everyone is looking at a sunset scene being played out in front of them. Even though everyone is looking at the TV, not everyone might be looking at the same aspect of the scene; one might see the setting sun, one might see the orange sky, the others might watch the birds and aeroplane fly by.
There has to be a reason why different people see different aspects of the same situation. It may be such that they are mentally conditioned in a certain way.
Why is it important to understand different perspectives?
A small change in perspective can bring about a big change in what you believe is possible. A person who is always living paycheck to paycheck may not understand how to enjoy the finer pleasures of life. A person sleeping in an air-conditioned room may not understand the plight of labourers sleeping in the open.
If you have to work with a daily wage labor and explain them the significance of their contribution, chances are they will not be interested in anything more than the pay at the end of the day. It is not their fault; it is the circumstances which are not allowing them to think differently. This is why they cannot adopt a different perspective; they are very busy fulfilling the basic necessities of life.
Hence, perspective is a consequence of the current situation of the person.
If a person has all their basic needs covered, they can start thinking about higher possibilities in life; knowledge, peace of mind etc. If the person is struggling to make ends meet, they will not focus on anything other than what is required for survival.
Everyone of us who is reading this article should feel grateful that we have more than the bare minimum facilities. This is why we are in pursuit of knowledge, and not only focused on three meals a day.
Understanding the fact that perspective is shaped by the situation, we need to find ways to collaborate with people focused on survival. We can be empathetic to their situation, but practically, it is easier said than done.
What are your views on how to collaborate with people who do not share the same perspective as you? Drop in your views in the comment section.
That was a great question and I gave it some thought,following which these are the two points that came to my mind: The first point must be both acceptance and reflection. Reminding oneself that one won't get along with everyone but there is potential value in every interaction with others is very important. The second step is to work better together,it’s important to shift from a competitive stance to a collaborative one.
I love this question so much! There are so many reasons we have perspectives different from others. Even children raised in the same homes will grow up with wildly different perspectives. So where does this come from? Here is how I try to see things from different angles. There are a number of reasons why we view things differently from others - our upbringing, what our parents believed, how they viewed the world, our environment outside of our home, our neighborhood, our schools, our community centers/churches, what we watched and listened to and read. All of these things shape who we are and set the programming for how we view the world. The first step in viewing things from the perspective of others is to be aware AND accepting of this. To acknowledge that those with differing opinions and views have life experience and programming that is much different from ours and to respect that. The next step is to be open to learning more about WHY. Be willing to ask questions and try to understand EVEN if you ultimately don't agree. Then you have to be willing to step outside of yourself and try to view and understand things from their perspective. It might surprise you how this causes you to actually shift your own.
Loved it! “Perspective is a consequence of the current situation of the person.” I can’t give a general answer to what makes a perspective shift, but I can tell what I’ve observed while reading. It was surprising for me to get three different perspectives when I re-read the same concept at three different times. And by different I mean, my subconscious mind was thinking and connecting three different experiences while I was making a conscious effort to understand the concept. I think the more we explore, the more time we spend on something, the more perspectives can be expected. Also, I feel a conducive environment is important to help align the perspectives with the desired outcome. Suggestions are welcome
Excellent article! I feel what you have bought out is the fundamental challenge - difference in assumptions. The reason we cant empathise as well as we want to is we hear what the person did but forget to understand why they did it. You should post about what your experiments have been in trying to resolve this mismatch.