I was watching a magic show the other day when I was reminded very viscerally of the power of perspective. Magic is a metaphor for a problem you can’t (yet) solve. I felt flummoxed and wowed by the magician’s illusion even though my logical self was looking for the answer and knew it was a trick.. ‘How does he do that?’ I thought. It was mesmerizing and just a little bit annoying that I didn’t know the ‘how to.’ It had me wondering about what happens when you feel flummoxed in your own life about seemingly unsolvable issues; and how we can quickly get into a siloed mentality. When we say to ourselves’ I can’t solve this.’ Maybe we even feel totally helpless, and silo into a victim schema. It’s a limited perspective. From one viewpoint. It’s one dimensional. Perspective is powerThink of a problem or challenge you have now. Are you stuck in a silo perspective? Sometimes friends will point out a perspective of opportunity that we were blind to for years, unable ‘to see the forest for the trees.’ Einstein knew this. He famously said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it.” We must move instead from a siloed stuckness to solution-seeking, and use our visual/mental/emotional/creative lenses. In drawing for example, the artist knows to step back and look at the drawing from a distance and from different angles to ensure they are achieving the desired outcome. Perspective is everythingHave you had the experience of an old problem suddenly shifting so it doesn’t bother you anymore and the only thing that changed was how you see it? Do you see one or 2 faces? How long before you see both? Optical illusions are the perfect example of seeing anew. Having a different perspective is to see clearly. Having perspective is akin to grounded awareness—How present and resourced are we? Unlike in depression where our vision is dulled and myopic; or anxiety, where our thoughts race to catastrophizing– grounding ourselves into a new perspective, is a medicine, all on its own. The breath holds such magic , ushering us back toward solution; back into the body, where our truth lives and sees more clearly. Wisdom lives here. Waiting for our full presence. What to do when you are in a silo mentality? After you notice you’re stuck try these steps…
I am a huge advocate of journaling to get past stuckness. Journaling creates a reset opportunity. Journalling is in fact your personal research project. I’ve done many creative webinars and encouraged journalling for over 30 years with clients. My own journaling experience began more diligently by age 10. (Naturally, I have acquired quite the pile of journals over time. ) Journalling is a stabilizing force. It changes your perception. Your perspective. Journalling lends the power of perspective, expands creativity, serves as our expressive medicine. There is a palpable, restorative value of mining your inner world daily. It declutters and untangles the mind and emotions. If your inner rebel is going “Ugh, no way”…may I gently suggest to try committing for seven days for 3 minutes. We will not change if we don’t make new choices and take new actions. One of the cognitive distortions of depression for example, is that myopic lens that narrows our perspective, which also directly syphons off motivation towards a new possibility as a result. Whereas Writing allows you to physically ground your inner voice through and out your body to see it. Sometimes we need a pattern interrupt |