THE POWER IN SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES

The nature of the questions I ask of myself and my life can condition the answers I receive which, in turn, may reinforce beliefs I already hold. What if, however, a particular belief is holding me back from advancing my personal development? If I care to look, the perspective of questions others may pose of me may often be far more illuminating in areas I did not think to explore.

We continually ask questions of our environment, our safety and ourselves, as it is essential to making the string of judgements required to function and survive in life. This is what kept us alive in the wild, and it is what we have to do constantly in order to make daily and life decisions.

The decisions we take and the choices we make are conditioned by the questions we pose. I refer to the subliminal minute by minute flow of 'what do I do next?' But what if the what we do next leads to choices and decisions to our detriment? I find it a useful and sometimes challenging exercise, to abandon my line of enquiry & follow instead a thread someone else puts forward - usually a friend or a colleague. This may often make me feel uncomfortable simply because I am taken out of my normal channels of thought and compelled to move in a direction that would not be my automatic choice given my own upbringing and conditioning. In fact, the more uncomfortable it becomes the greater the rewards can be. This is particularly true where I have previously met an obstacle  in my life that I seem to have difficulty overcoming. Simply put, if this way won't work then take a run at it from a different perspective. Alternatively, changing tack may serve a purpose If only to confirm that I was on the right line already - to discount an alternative route can help progress. At least I have travelled a different way for a short while and explored new possibilities.

There is always a way out of the maze: it is sometimes helpful simply to come to a problem or challenge from a slightly different direction in order to get a stalled situation on the move once again. While true and lasting change may not come easily, the journey can be exhilarating and liberating once the shackles of our own modes and conventions have been shed.