Problems are a Matter of Perspective

The other day I came to the realization that most problems can be solved with a simple adjustment to our perspective. More specifically, by changing the scale of our perspective, I believe that we can eliminate many of our problems and more effectively deal with the remaining ones. And I don’t mean just ignore them or mask them over.

When dealing with challenges, it is easy to overly focus on the problems at hand. We fail to put problems into the proper context within our lives. I think that this results in a world perspective that is quite small. This means that little things in our lives that could be considered problems are disproportionately large. Imagine a small perspective to be a shoebox. If you focus on even a few problems, this is like placing a couple bricks in the box. Not much room is left, is there? This is what happens when we are too focused on little things and fail to see any of the big picture.

By simply expanding our scale of perspective we can put problems back in their place, allowing for the fullness of our life to be present. Take a step back and realize that there are indeed great things happening in your life. Just because something is not to your liking now doesn’t mean it will always be that way. Imagine now that your shoebox has enlarged to the size of your kitchen. There’s a lot more room for the good things happening in your life now, isn’t there?

On the other end of the spectrum is allowing our scale of perspective to be too large. I think this is probably becoming more frequent as more and more kids and adults are becoming ‘world citizens’ and wanting to help everybody. For some, this means focusing on ALL of the problems in the world right now: war, disease, poverty, and anything else threatening humanity. An overly broad perspective can easily be overwhelming, leading to feelings of discouragement and even hopelessness as we search for meaning in a world that seemingly makes no sense.

Luckily I believe this is simply a matter of having too large of a perspective. By contracting it, we can adjust things back to their rightful proportions. Poverty is a big deal, but it shouldn’t outweigh your ability to see innocence in a child or beauty in a sunset. I used to let my inability to put everything in the world into order weigh me down enough that I could not see the good in my life. Luckily I got to the point that I “woke up” and changed my scale of perspective (although I didn’t realize I was doing this at the time).

Changing your scale of perspective doesn’t mean you are ignoring problems or running away from them. In contrast, you will be more at peace and better equipped to handle them. It simply puts things in proper perspective and allows you to deal with life in a more balanced and enlightened way. And don’t forget, even the largest problems can be solved with one step at a time.