Perspective
At work the other day, a five-year-old asked her mother, “Why is the old man here?” Later that same day, an elderly lady called me “you kids.”
Who’s right? Both of them? Neither?
I suppose the answer is that they’re both right from their perspective. It’s something we easily overlook when we listen to advice from others or argue with ourselves.
So how do we go about “choosing right”?
Maybe by remembering to look at the bigger picture and where we are in life right now. Easier said than done, of course. We’re often so eager to find answers that we end up with tunnel vision.
Perhaps open-mindedness and logic need to be joined by another ingredient:
Emotion
Not the kind rooted in fear or anxiety. In those cases, it’s usually best to wait out the storm before making big decisions. But the subtle feeling that lingers deep down can be useful.
It’s hard to put feelings into words, and when we try, the descriptions are always personal. But we all share one thing, the ability to sense whether something gives us “good” or “bad” vibes.
It doesn’t always work, and sometimes we fool ourselves, but giving it time and space usually helps. And when things feel unclear, we can try to step back and view them from a wider perspective.
What does your gut tell you?