It’s a funny thing — we all inhabit the same world, yet our perspectives can be wildly different. You say blue, I say green, and we’re both utterly convinced we’ve got it right. We assume our view is the view.
This plays out in… well, everything. Politics. Relationships. Questionable food choices (water chestnuts, anyone?). Even our relationship with money.
Back in my younger, more idealistic days — translation: broke do-gooder — I saw people with money as… misguided. “Boo the 1%!” I thought, channeling the protest signs I saw in DC. After all, money was the root of all evil, right? And those who had it were inherently suspect.
The kicker? That “truth” existed only in my head. It wasn’t an objective fact — it was a deeply ingrained belief, a lens that shaped my cognitive framework.
As life unfolded, my beliefs evolved, and my lens shifted. Suddenly, being in the 1% wasn’t a moral failing — it was the American Dream. Money wasn’t evil; the love of money was. And as that lens changed, so did my experience of the world. Money became a source of abundance and opportunity.
We don’t see the world as it is. We see it as we are.
This is exactly what I see in my clients.
A text thread from a client this morning described a workplace blowup: a “he said / she said” deadlock.
“She’s a bully,” one claimed.
“He’s completely disrespectful,” the other shot back.
Both were convinced they were the victim — neither saw their own reflection in the conflict.
Self-awareness is a tricky beast. We’re quick to observe the world, but slow to observe ourselves. The truth? The world we perceive is a projection of our own minds, colored by our unique lens.
Shift that lens, and you shift everything.
So how do you do it?
Simple, but not easy:
- Stop. Get off autopilot.
- Breathe. Slow your nervous system so your brain can process.
- Step into their shoes. Remember, they are the hero of their own story.
When you release your iron grip on being “right” and step into someone else’s vantage point, you open the door to connection, resolution, and influence.
Change your perspective — and you might just find your way to a whole new world.