Easy Ways to Appreciate Different Perspectives

Nowadays there is a day to celebrate anything and everything. Like did you know that May 2 was Brothers and Sisters Day? Yep! We have a day to cherish our siblings.

An appropriate day considering most of us are wired to fight with our siblings rather than appreciate their presence. Parents in the house understand the mayhem caused by fighting siblings. The number of times we hear one child disown the other in a day is more than anyone can care to count. And these fights could emerge from the simplest of things. 

Like the other day, while watching a movie, the older child kept dismissing the different scenes as either fake or dumb based on his understanding and knowledge of the world. The younger one on the other hand was enjoying every bit of the movie and these snide remarks from the older one irritated her so much that she chased away her sibling out of the room.

Interesting how life is all about perspectives.
How many times do we find ourselves in similar circumstances? Living in the same exact environment as our loved ones but walking away with different lessons? Here are two children, experiencing two very different realities from a movie based on their age and experiences.

Both these realities were accurate. None of them were right or wrong, they had just experienced different realities.

Our perspectives are shaped by our experiences and depend on the view in which we see the world around us. Consider this very common image of two (2) gentlemen who are viewing the number 9 / 6 from two different angles. These 2 individuals could argue till Christ comes down about how right they each are, and they will both be right.

Being able to fully appreciate a situation for what it is without judgement, leads to an appreciation of the different perspectives that exist.

How then do you get to appreciate the different perspectives that exist?

Adopt a Learning Attitude 

None of us can ever get to the point of knowing everything there is to know about everything. Allow yourself to learn from others. Ask questions. Be open to listening to others around you. Open yourself up to learning from others and you will be surprised what you will uncover about yourself or a situation.

Keep an open attitude 

The quote “When your attitude is right, the facts don’t matter” by Kevin Trudeau sums up the power of maintaining an open and positive attitude in all circumstances. Having a positive attitude infuses hope and hope will always look for the different possibilities out of any given situation even when things are not going as expected.

Accept that differences will always exist 

Can you imagine how boring life would be if we all saw life from the same viewpoint. There would be nothing to look forward to. The color in the world is what give us the beauty we admire; thus, the differences we see give us an opportunity to learn from others. And in learning, we grow.

Appreciating different perspectives is good for our learning and growth.

So, the next time you notice your household turning into a mini-Afghanistan, remind the young ones that having a different perspective is okay. They could just learn something from of the situation that they had initially overlooked or didn’t know.

As you get started on your Personal Branding journey, realize that having a difference of opinion with your audience / and those around you is inevitable. Do not be afraid to share your point of view as this is one of the ways you get to stand out from the crowd. Just because your opinion does not align with the person next to you doesn’t mean that they are right or wrong. It just means they have experienced a different view of the same situation or reality.

This week, appreciate the differences around you and #standout4growth.

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