Here’s one of the most powerful tools I’ve found in life: Perspective Lenses.
Lenses to look at reality through.
A lens can be any perspective really.
Here are three perspective lenses that can change your life for the better.
1: Marketing
Instead of scrolling through social media on autopilot, try this…
View everything through the lens of marketing.
Look for elements of persuasion, relationship building, influence, etc.
Notice the intention behind different posts and ads.
Notice what catches your attention. Then ask yourself, “Why did that catch my attention?”
This will open up major insights, in completely unexpected ways too. All just because you chose to check social media through the lens of marketing.
2: Patience
You can also use any personal quality, or virtue, as a lens.
One of the best is patience.
Patience is so underrated, and practicing patience will develop your character and make your life better in so many ways.
Here are some examples.
If you’re standing in line somewhere, instead of defaulting to complaining and/or frustration, practice patience. View waiting in line through the lens of, “this will help me build patience,” and you realize it’s not so bad after all.
Here’s another one. If you view a conversation at work through the lens of patience, it completely changes the dynamic compared to whatever your autopilot mode is. You’ll understand the person on a deeper level, and they’ll like you more because they can tell you care.
Again, patience is one of the best lenses, because patience is a quality of mature mastery.
3: Learning Experiences
Okay this one is my favorite…
The lens of “everything is a learning experience.”
When you view everything as a learning experience, you accelerate your learning and growth in all areas of life.
Plus, you don’t get hung up on the “bad” things in life, because you know you can learn from them.
Think about every story. There’s always a challenge or a rock bottom moment that ends up being a gift in disguise, because it’s a major learning experience.
One of the best times to practice the lens of learning is when you’re around difficult people.
For example, if someone close to you is being confrontational, maybe the lesson for you is staying grounded among chaos, or holding healthy boundaries, or forgiveness.
I invite you to use this lens.
Practice asking yourself, “What’s the lesson here?”
You’ll always find a lesson.
Everything is a learning experience to serve your growth.
Those are three powerful perspective lenses that can change your life.
Try them out. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Much Love,
Stephen Parato
