damolaolomu

perspective is reality and i believe this statement to be true. in trying to contextualize this subject, i found a dictionary definition that stood out to me, it defined perspective as a mental prospect and i agree. i personally define perspective as a vista, a point of view that can be conceptualized as a pair of lenses, albeit invincible that determines to a large extent what you see. simply put, it’s how you see what’s visible.

it defines how you analogize the data, information and insights you receive from external stimuli. perspective is inextricably linked to perception; it determines how you evaluate, assess and ultimately judge things; it’s the crux of how you form your opinions and views on what’s right or wrong, good or bad, just and unjust. it influences what you accept or reject, align with and steer clear of. perspective defines your vision, shapes your ideas, precepts and concepts and it’s a major player in defining effectively everything you live and ultimately die for. 

having established how important perspective is, how is it even adopted? what shapes our perspectives? to be fair, everything in life literally has the potential to change and affect your perspective but a few ones worthy of note would be knowledge, understanding, experience and influence which is probably the biggest player when you carefully observe the current societal construct.

people’s perspectives can paint a picture of who they are, because it’s the aggregation of what they believe, how they think, the many ways they’ve been convinced and their personal experiences whether good, bad or ugly that shapes them and crafts their unique point of view . this is why you can have folks defend an opinion you find absolutely absurd with their lives if it depended on it, so long as it’ll prove that they’re right and you’re wrong. it’s why you see an exciting challenge where someone describes the very puzzle as a herculean task, why you can see victory when others see defeat and see a way out when others see a dead end.

at the advent of every cycle of metamorphosis in my life, i see perspectives become sliding scales, i see grey areas where others see black and white, and exceptions where people see absolutes even if they don’t disprove the rule. i don’t see things the way i saw them years ago, heck even months ago because of changes in perspective and it alludes to the fact that in the moment, everyone believes that they are right with respect to their opinions and no one is intrinsically foolish in their own eyes because based on their perspective, they’re right and you’re wrong and as a matter of fact, to them it’s ridiculous that you don’t see things how they see them.

this has opened me up to understanding how a major role of leadership is finding a way to excellently redefine mental modules to ultimately change the perspective of emerging leaders to see as their leaders see. you change people by gradually shifting their perspectives through engineered thought patterns and processes by the prescription of superior levels of illumination. God the father leads this way too, he changes our vistas through our experiences in our walk with him, after all that’s what he told Abraham, no? -Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬. 

perspective is one of the determining factors in every decision making process and it sort of explains how people act and react in the world. it defines how they see extremities and middle grounds with a range that cuts across morality, axiology, religion, ethnic backgrounds, politics and culture – the very ethos of every society. in the heart of every disagreement, there’s a difference in perspective and in every idea, concept and insight, there’s a specific perspective.

this key shapes my disposition and quest for greater light, knowledge and weightier dimensions of revelation, it keeps me humble knowing i can be wrong and it’s helped me exercise the patience muscle when i’m dealing with people because i know that perspective shapes character and every flaw is indicative of a specific deficiency in perspective. like i said earlier, perspectives are sliding scales, they can change and they can be refined, better ones can be adopted. nobody is a lost cause, they just need a change in perspective, sometimes an adjustment, or in extreme cases a total overhaul.

every revolution or reformation in history started with a change in perspective. with this insight, carefully consider a group of people with the right perspective as a microcosm of society and you can see how no society is irredeemable because every dysfunction in the world we see today is an indicator that is spelling out the need for a change in perspective.

now you can handle people’s flaws with grace and respect people’s opinions even when they’re sincerely wrong. you don’t have to judge anyone that can’t see your vision or the fruits that’ll bloom from your ideas in seed form because you know why they can’t. my humble submission to you the reader, is that before you boldly state claims and takes, ask yourself why you have that opinion and answer without prejudice because perspective can literally be the difference between light and darkness and with the right perspective, one man can change the world.