As I sat there in my chair, I looked down at the magazine lying on the floor. It was leaning against a stack of books and bent in the middle. The cover featured a picture of Tim Ferriss, author of the “4 Hour Workweek,” and life experimenter extraordinaire.
When I looked at it I thought “Man, Tim looks angry on that cover.” Then I picked the magazine up and it flattened out and I saw the “normal” Tim. It was so weird how this difference of the magazine’s orientation completely changed his look and the vibe.
To my amusement I went back and forth between angry Tim and normal Tim and imagined the music that would go with each. (I know I have a pretty warped sense of humor.)
I put together a video to help you get your mind in my warped place.
This shows us how just looking at something with a different perspective can totally change our perception of it.
We’ve all been in a situation; political discussion, sports debate, conversation with our spouse, that has shown us that two people can interpret the exact same situation in completely different ways. Both people are 100% convinced their way of seeing it is the “right” way and they can’t believe the other person can’t see it.
Perspective is Powerful
Could the perspective you have of yourself and your ability to get better at something have an impact on whether or not you actually get better?
As a matter of fact it could.
Sian Beilock is a psychology professor at The University of Chicago, and one of her research studies looked at success and failures in students taking math tests. She says, “We found that cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, can either be tied to a student’s poor performance on a math test or contribute to success, depending on the frame of mind of the student going into the test,”
So basically, even the physiological effects of stress can be used for good or bad depending on your perspective of how well you are going to do. You are pre-determining the outcome!
Your perspective on what and how you are actually practicing can also help or hinder your efforts. Sometimes it helps to see a larger picture of what you are working on so you can see every detail.
How does your perspective change at 200 mph?
NASCAR drivers have a unique but somewhat limited perspective of what is happening during a race. They see the track in front of them, and a small shot of what is going on behind them in their rearview mirror.
But due to the HANS device (which stands for Head and Neck Support) along with their helmet, it makes it difficult for the drivers to see to the sides of their cars. It’s not like driving down the freeway in the family SUV where a quick glance over your right shoulder can let you know it is clear to move over a lane.
To compensate for their limited vision, each driver has a “spotter.” The spotter is a person who sits up on top of the grandstand and communicates to the driver via radio, telling them all the info they need and filling in gaps in their “perspective.” A spotter can see the whole track and has to be quick to tell a driver when there is someone on his outside quarter panel, or when a driver passes a car, the spotter tells him when it is “clear,” meaning when he can pull over in front of that car.
Think about how stressful it would be to not be able to see what is to your left or right driving down the interstate if you need to change lanes. Now think of what that’s like at 200 miles per hour.
The spotter has more of an overview or overall perspective of what is going on in the race. They can tell a driver who is behind them, or how many cars are between them and the leader. This is great information to have.
Be your own spotter
We Could all use that kind of information about a skill we are practicing! Have someone tell us, “Great job, you are moving up, you are about to pass a milestone in two more practices. Don’t look over your shoulder, just keep focused on what’s in front of you and get up on the wheel and keep your foot on the gas!”
Having a bigger or more complete perspective on something we are trying to get better at can help us see what is working and what is not. This helps give us the confidence to know that we can do this!
Think about being your own “spotter,” where you step outside yourself and go up to the top of the grandstand and watch yourself practice. What do you see yourself doing? What would you tell yourself? “Hey, you are rushing through that. Do another set of reps. Add some variation to that. Good job, you are making progress!”
“In order to know what to do next, you need to step outside yourself and examine exactly where you are now.” Click Here to Tweet this
Changing our perspective on the potential we have to get better and on how we see what we practice can be a powerful tool to help things click for us. If our perspective is that we can definitely get better if we practice the right things in the right way, we’ll be more likely to want to practice (because we believe it will pay off), and put the time into making sure we are practicing in the most effective way.
Do a “Perspective check” the next time you think about your skill and make sure you are seeing things in the best possible way. Don’t let a bad perspective ruin your ability to improve.
Go sideways
One of the techniques to help us make sure our perspective is the best one is “Lateral Thinking.” In a nutshell this is the practice of looking at things from a new angle or with a new paradigm. We often only see something one way, just straight ahead. Lateral Thinking is the ability to “step to the side” and look at the same thing from a different spot.
Edward de Bono literally wrote the book “Lateral Thinking” and explains how your perspective may be able to breakthrough some walls you have had surrounding your practice. He says, “Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists.”
If your current perspective is showing you something you are not happy with, try Lateral Thinking to see if it shows you a better a view.
In one of my favorite movies, “Ratatouille,” nasty villain and food critic “Anton Ego” goes into Gusteau’s restaurant to see if there is any truth to all the rave reviews on the new Chef. Anton would much rather see the place shut down and knows he has the power to influence that with a bad review.
He puts in his order with as much condescension and arrogance as he can muster.
Many times that is the way we tend to think. We are waiting for our own Anton to come in, sit down, and provide us with perspective. When actually, we have the ability to create or change our own perspective right now.
While we can get perspective from a great coach, a teacher or mentor, we can also craft it for ourselves! Don’t wait for someone else to give you the perspective on getting better at a skill, take stock in yourself, be your own “spotter” and look at how and what you are practicing and then adjust if needed!
It all starts with your perspective on yourself – how you see yourself.
Make a commitment to have the positive perspective that you CAN and WILL get better through practice, and then dig in!
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