Perspective.
So many ways to think about this word, a favorite lately. I've learned how valuable perspective is, as I've looked back on a particular life stage or chapter. Looking at it with wiser eyes, I can consider other possibilities that could be have been true then.
I did the best I knew how to, then.
You can use perspective to pull back from a major decision and, trying on different vantage points and/or attitudes about the decision, you’ll find different ways to look at that decision.
What if I did this instead … If I believed more in myself, like so-and-so does, then I would decide to …
Or having made a decision, you can review
how you decided. Tap into that approach again and make decisions you’re more comfortable with, learning from what has worked or not.
I need to get my adult child’s opinion because she knows me so well. I need to talk it through and get it out of my head.
You can look back at other times in your life when you were resilient and bounced back.
Talking through and recalling what you did then, you can use those same means to get yourself back on track this time. (Also, you can read
last newsletter's article “What Do You Need to Get Back to,” where I share five practical strategies for getting back on track, for finding your resilience to bounce back or pulling your courage out of the corner.)
This month’s main article is about a few of my perspectives, gained during my personal retreat this summer. These came from slowing down life, going off the technology grid, and taking some workshops, along with conversations I've had along the way.
To your new perspectives – and possibilities because of them,
P.S. If you need support to figure out how to approach your challenges, please contact me at
sue@organizenh.com or 603 765-9267.
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Ask yourself what is really important, and then have the wisdom and courage to build your life around your answer.
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Perspectives from My Summer Retreat & Why Perspectives Are Useful
Synchronicity. Synergy. Serendipity. Some favorite words which remind me of my article today.
They all sound like beautiful music to me, like chords that play together well and offer some surprising twists and turns along the way. Like perspectives … and my summer retreat time.
Many of you who work with me know that I spent a week away this summer at a favorite place,
sans technology,
sans iPhone,
sans computer of any sort. I arrive without expectations and allow the music and the magic to carry me for awhile.
It’s rustic camping (nowhere near "glamping"), with special friends I don’t get to see but once a year, sometimes twice. We have workshops, all styles of music on different stages, vegetarian meals … lots of walking, music, quiet, and trees and ferns whispering in the wind or sun, all day and at night.
This is when I step back and gain perspective on my life and my work. I do this in small ways during the year, but in August, I step
way back.
I take time (and workshops in this year) to reflect on and put together the pieces; you know what I mean? Those pieces and
those signs and clues that show up during the year, but we don’t see them, lining up, pointing us down some path. You start to see things: the synchronicity and synergy begins. The music begins to come together.
Perspective. How do you get there though? A client once said that my most valuable service was the questions I asked. We looked deeper into some issues, and pulled way back on others, noticing what her perspective was and what other possibilities were out there for her to try on.
The deeper meaning of “perspective” is to understand what’s keeping you stuck in some narrow view where you've shut out other possibilities. Things have always been this way. I've always thought about it this way. I've never been that kind of person. I’m this but not that. My childhood was … This is not what I expected.
Value of Asking the Questions
If we don’t slow down life, how do we know if we are happy? When did you last ask yourself: Am I happy? (Or whatever word of joy you choose.)
If we don’t review that work project which didn't go as it should have, how will we ever realize, acknowledge and remember what to do differently next time? Remember how it feels when you repeat a mistake?
If we have trouble settling into sleep, morning or work routines, pull back to think about what was in place for those times when the routines DID work. Rinse and repeat.
If we don’t acknowledge that life has changed in a big way, as we've made it through a health scare, or when we've lost a person, job or marriage, how will we pause long enough to figure out how to process, heal and then be able to move on? How do we honor what has happened and put it aside, having thought enough about it, so that we can let go and move on? And to remember the learning so for our next big change, we can deal with it in some ways more easily.
We don’t do this often enough. We just keep running on the same train.
So what perspective did I gain? The main surprise is how my values have shifted over the past years. What’s important to me and what I value are clearer to me and different compared to my last values exercise. I also found perspective on what I want to focus on or create in my life over the next few years. And that required opening up my mind and trying on different perspectives and possibilities. (Two more favorite words.)
My values from this summer’s retreat are below and posted on my wall as my visual reminder.
wisdom, tranquility, inner life, self-expression,
connectedness, acceptance, gentleness and boldness.
Values drive how I manage my life, my time, my relationships, my business focus, the people I work with, my schedule priorities day to day.
Values act as a way to know yourself, to know you're not allowing someone to overstep their bounds in any relationship, to set priorities on use of your time, and are a constant litmus test or filter for major decisions.
Never tried a values exercise? Email me at Sue@OrganizeNH.com for the (free) worksheet I use with clients curious about their values. They do indeed change, so it’s a useful exercise, if you've been through some life changes – whether your circumstances, physical or mental health diagnosis, and so forth.
Related Articles
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