In recent weeks I have been thinking a lot about how we as human beings and then as business people perceive what is around us.
Some of you may already be thinking I don’t think much about that stuff, I’m just focused on achieving and doing – after all that stuff is a bit new age; doesn’t work or isn’t really important.
If that’s how you think then you will find this week’s article thought provoking and useful in all aspects of life (not just business).
After all, it’s not any good being a mega success in business if our relationships with our partners, kids and significant others is falling apart now is it?
So how do you see yourself and the others in your daily sphere of influence?
For instance:
Is your family the real reason why you drive yourself so hard and unrelentingly in matters of business or is business what your self-worth is tied up in and you cannot see yourself of value apart from your commercial achievements?
Are your staff really valued by you as human beings (someone’s mum, daughter, father, son, aunt or uncle) or just economic resources to serve your business ends?
Is the phone call from a prospective customer an interruption of your already busy day or an opportunity to perhaps be a blessing and in turn be blessed?
This is important because how we see things has a great deal to do with how we feel about things.
The scientific evidence points to perception being an active process closely tied to the flow of our emotions.
Choosing how to view an event is one of the secrets of emotional mastery.
Colin Turnbull, in his book, The Forrest People, relates a story about a Pygmy he had befriended. This pygmy had lived his entire life in the thick jungles of East Africa. Turnbull took the pygmy to the Serengeti, the great open plains that border the jungle and showed him the wild life of the plains. The life-long forest dweller asked, “What insects are those?” referring to the water buffalo that were a long distance away. When informed that the “insects” were water buffalo he laughed out loud and called Turnbull a liar.
The pygmy’s perceptual world was so heavily biased towards the short distances of tropical jungle life that he could not conceive that these buffalo were real.
Clearly the environments and cultures in which we live (and have lived) affect our capacity to “see”. We become “conditioned” to the perspectives available and don’t even realise it.
An Elephant By Any Other Name
This is not the only way our perceptions can be restricted. I am sure you are aware of the story of the six blind men and an elephant which is about reality and our own incomplete grasp of it.
Each blind man touches a different part of the elephant as the zookeeper asks them what they think an elephant is. The blind man holding the trunk says the elephant is snake like; whereas the man holding an ear, a fan like thing and so it goes on.
From a psychological perspective there are three perceptual positions:
* First position – looking through our own eyes
* Second position – stepping into someone else’s shoes and looking through their eyes; and
* Third position – viewing the situation as if we were a “fly on the wall” with no emotional attachment.
The interesting thing is most of us have a preferred perceptual position and no prizes for guessing what that is.
Yes, that’s right, Position One – looking through our own eyes.
And with each perceptual position come habits of thought. Although the good news is like any habit – they can be changed.
The pay off from being able to look at situations from different perspectives can be significant, for example:
* Help you negotiate better commercial deals because you consider and anticipate the other party’s view
* Help you diffuse those tricky staff situations that are negatively affecting workplace morale and productivity
* Improve the quality of family and other personal relationships.
So how will you approach your day/week and indeed rest of this year and even your life?
Will you commit to see things from all perspectives not just your preferred perspective?
Harry S Truman once said,
“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves….self-discipline with all of them came first.”
Source: “Teaching An Anthill to Fetch – Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work” by Stephen James Joyce
Note: I had the pleasure of meeting Steve while in Canada on business recently. The Right Team and Results In Business Institute (my other company) assisted Steve in his quest to achieve Amazon Best Seller status when the book was launched last week on July 25.
There was a very special promotion (including $657 worth of FREE Bonuses for purchasers of Steve’s book) that was being run that day. I cannot guarantee that this promotion is still available however if you would like to find out more go to http://www.anthillbook.com/bonuspage.htm and follow the instructions – you won’t be disappointed – even if you only get the book!
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