How often do you hear that you “have to look at things from different perspectives”?
I have heard it several times today already.
It has almost become one of those clichés like, “thinking outside the box”,
finding the “low-hanging fruits”, or looking for “synergies”
I am a big advocate for always trying to look deeper.
To look again and to see things from different perspectives.
I have written about it in previous letters and am always encouraging others
(as well as myself), to look again and not be satisfied with the first answer.
But how can I convince you that this is an actual skill and not a cliché?
A skill is something you can practice.
So… I created a place for you to start practicing.
A place to practice
I have previously written about Exspace, and
how you can take one mental step to the side to look deeper.
For a long time I have had all these figures and
examples in my mind to illustrate my point.
But if they are stuck in my mind, they benefit no one.
I have found myself in many situations where I wanted to
show, rather than just tell what this was all about.
So I decided to bring my figures to life for you to explore as well.
7 easy comparisons where you can’t “explain” the difference.
You have to “exspace” them.
And if you ever find yourself in a situation where someone thinks that
“seeing things from another perspective” is just a cliché and
not a skill… then show them this.
No, I am not tracking your score or how many guessed correctly. That’s not the point.
The point is to show you that things that look the same, can still be very different.
That mentality and openness is what I want you to take with you from this.
To actually see things from a different perspective.
Practice makes better… never perfect.
I could have created more pairs for you to try but I didn’t.
It doesn’t matter if I do seven or seventeen, the exercise is the same.
Taking the time to look deeper and finding additional points of view.
But not in order to find the right one.
This is not about getting the right answer.
It is about realizing all the possible answers that I didn’t show you.
Because there isn’t one single right answer here.
Yes, I am showing you two different figures in 3D… but
are these the only possible answers to the starting 2D-point?
No.
The squares are one example of that.
In some situations they are different, in another they are the same.
And you shouldn’t care if you got it right or wrong.
This is not about memorizing the right answers or trying to get it perfectly right.
That will only paralyse you and prevent you from taking actions.
This is about seeing more alternatives, being aware of what could be.
I know that you rarely encounter abstract geometrical figures in your everyday life.
But you encounter individuals, situations and opinions, all of which can
change when viewed from a different perspective.
And if you don’t notice that, you will jump to conclusions,
make false assumptions, and fail to notice misunderstandings.
This simple exercise is a starting point of how to get better at
seeing things from different perspectives.
It is a way to practice a skill that many people won’t develop,
because they only see it as a cliché.
What did you think about the test?
Send me a DM on LinkedIn and tell me about it.
Until next time!
Daniel - The Talking Bridge
Ps. Music Motivation:
