The Power of Shifting Perspectives
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
This quote by Wayne Dyer points to an important truth – the lens we use to view the world shapes how we think, what decisions we make, and how we act.
Our perspectives are informed by our underlying beliefs, assumptions, and ways of making meaning. They determine what we pay attention to and to what we ignore. The problem is we often don’t realise our perspectives are subjective or malleable. We assume we see the world as it really is.
And our perspectives act as filters, causing us to miss critical information. This limits our understanding of ourselves, others, and the full complexity of situations we face. We end up operating on autopilot, without carefully examining our thought patterns.
Let’s explore how making simple shifts in our perspectives can lead to dramatically improved self-awareness, relationships, and outcomes.
The Words We Use Matter
Language reflects inner meaning-making. Look at your typical sentence construction and word choice. Do your statements tend to be more simple or complex? Do they focus on attributes, growth, or connections? The linguistic patterns we default to can indicate a stage of ego development – how we structure our experience in a given moment. And when we are stressed, we can regress so noticing is crucial.
By mapping key patterns, we gain insight into our centre of gravity for sense-making. This allows us to see our own “paint by numbers” metaphor. The more intricate the picture, the more nuanced the thinking. Widening our perspectives (to include the larger systems we are operating in) adds adaptability and cognitive flexibility. At its best, it means we can become better able to relate, influence, and lead.
Upgrading Our Inner Operating System
We can intentionally develop more expansive frames of reference. These act as mental models that shape what we see and how we evaluate situations or people. Think of it as upgrading your interior operating system to expand available perspectives.
There are four core capacities that allow for vertical growth into wider worldviews:
1. Perspective Shifting – Examining experiences through different lenses
2. Self-Relating – Increasing consciousness of inner patterns
3. Opposable Thinking – Holding multiple, even contradictory ideas at once (without losing our sense of who we are)
4. Meaning-Making – Forming broader connections and contexts
Growing these capacities builds ego maturity – a measurable progression of personal development beyond just gathering knowledge. With later stage access to these capacities can come increased freedom in thoughts, more capability for change, and greater real-world effectiveness.
Practical Steps Forward
We all have room for growth into fuller perspectives. Here are three simple steps to get started:
1. Notice automatic reactions and stories your mind generates about situations and people. Don’t resist them but name them and allow some space between perception and response.
2. Actively seek alternate viewpoints from others. Imagine plausible explanations beyond your instinctive attributions. Entertain opposable frames, even just as thought experiments.
3. Write a challenging scenario, then rewrite your own part in it to align with your highest values and vision for yourself.
The goal of perspective shifting is not only more neutrality – it’s increased freedom to consciously choose where to focus your attention and energy. With care and practice, you can upgrade your operating system (Upgrade the book - here) to expand understanding, empathy, and impact. Small hinges of perspective swing open doors of possibility.
So where will you start? Setting an intention helps cement commitment to developing new practices.
For accountability and support find a trusted partner to have exploratory conversations with around your experiences with shifting frames.
Don’t judge your progress harshly. Expanding perspectives takes time and ongoing reinforcement through real-life practice. Be patient with yourself and celebrate small wins and insights along the way. The goal is progress, not perfection.
Commit to growth today – your future self with a wider worldview will thank you. And as that expanded vision unfolds, you’ll unlock new positive impacts in your life and community.
It all starts with a simple choice to see things differently. You’ve got this!
If you found this introduction to perspective-shifting intriguing, stay tuned for more. In my next blog post, I’ll be digging deeper into three additional key capacities for vertical development: self-relating, opposable thinking, and sense-making. Understanding all four capacities provides a framework for unlocking new levels of mental complexity and freedom.
Amanda Livermore is the founder of LORE Consultancy Ltd. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a trained mentor coach and a coach supervisor.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Sylvie Faisandier (partner in crime in inscape) Karen Ellis and Richard Boston (authors of Upgrade - Building your capacity for Complexity)