Let's Talk Perspective
Let's Talk Perspective
When stressed or confronted with highly charged issues and challenges, does your thinking sound more like David’s or the Israelites’?
Perspective. It’s easy to lose when there are so many moving parts swirling around you. Eyes are on you to make critical decisions. If you are like many executive leaders, you believe that people expect you to have all the answers. (A myth, by the way…you have to know how to get the answers but you don’t have to always think them up by yourself.) You feel the pressure because, quite frankly, you’re looking for some answers yourself…and the silence is deafening. So when answers aren’t coming; when you feel like your thinking is becoming paralyzed by doubt or fear, it’s time to take a breath. Step back and put some space between you and whatever is scaring you, stressing you, confusing you, and is keeping you thinking, “This thing is so big, I don’t know how or if we can take it down.”
Sometimes we can’t get to any solutions because we are so close to the issue, and so intimidated by the possibility of failure. Our thinking is “in the weeds” and we need to seek higher ground to get a fresh perspective and see if we can reconnect the dots in a way that opens up new possibilities to find a solution and new ways of thinking about what is and what could be. Making sure you have clarity is always a good place to start.
Here are some things you can do to get some perspective:
1. Take a break and go for a walk, take a drive, close the door and just be for about a minute or two.
2. If you’re the type who works things out and gets clarity by talking it out with someone then seek them out…preferably someone who usually sees things differently from you and whom you trust. If not, then you alone will do just fine.
3. Picture yourself standing on the top of a mountain and looking out at the entire landscape of which this issue is a part. What do you see, when you notice this issue in a larger context?
4. Ask yourself if you have clarity on this issue.
5. Are you attributing the right amount of priority or importance to this issue? Is it too high or too low?
6. Ask yourself how else you can see this issue. (like David did above)
7. Is there something you’re missing when you assess the situation?
8. When you think about this issue, are there any thoughts that keep popping up that you keep immediately dismissing? Ask yourself what are they trying to tell you?
9. What are you afraid of?
10. Who else should you involve in collaborating with you on this issue?
These are just some of the questions that can help you get some perspective on whatever you are facing and refresh your outlook. There is always another way to look at a situation that seems overwhelming. In the end, how we choose to think about and respond to whatever is confronting us will make the difference between slaying the giant or being at its mercy.
Lets Talk Perspective - To learn more about this author, visit Karla Robertson's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, ‘He’s so big we can never kill him.’ David looked at the same giant and thought, ‘He’s so big how can I miss?’” ~ Russ Johnson
When stressed or confronted with highly charged issues and challenges, does your thinking sound more like David’s or the Israelites’?
Perspective. It’s easy to lose when there are so many moving parts swirling around you. Eyes are on you to make critical decisions. If you are like many executive leaders, you believe that people expect you to have all the answers. (A myth, by the way…you have to know how to get the answers but you don’t have to always think them up by yourself.) You feel the pressure because, quite frankly, you’re looking for some answers yourself…and the silence is deafening. So when answers aren’t coming; when you feel like your thinking is becoming paralyzed by doubt or fear, it’s time to take a breath. Step back and put some space between you and whatever is scaring you, stressing you, confusing you, and is keeping you thinking, “This thing is so big, I don’t know how or if we can take it down.”
Sometimes we can’t get to any solutions because we are so close to the issue, and so intimidated by the possibility of failure. Our thinking is “in the weeds” and we need to seek higher ground to get a fresh perspective and see if we can reconnect the dots in a way that opens up new possibilities to find a solution and new ways of thinking about what is and what could be. Making sure you have clarity is always a good place to start.
Here are some things you can do to get some perspective:
1. Take a break and go for a walk, take a drive, close the door and just be for about a minute or two.
2. If you’re the type who works things out and gets clarity by talking it out with someone then seek them out…preferably someone who usually sees things differently from you and whom you trust. If not, then you alone will do just fine.
3. Picture yourself standing on the top of a mountain and looking out at the entire landscape of which this issue is a part. What do you see, when you notice this issue in a larger context?
4. Ask yourself if you have clarity on this issue.
5. Are you attributing the right amount of priority or importance to this issue? Is it too high or too low?
6. Ask yourself how else you can see this issue. (like David did above)
7. Is there something you’re missing when you assess the situation?
8. When you think about this issue, are there any thoughts that keep popping up that you keep immediately dismissing? Ask yourself what are they trying to tell you?
9. What are you afraid of?
10. Who else should you involve in collaborating with you on this issue?
These are just some of the questions that can help you get some perspective on whatever you are facing and refresh your outlook. There is always another way to look at a situation that seems overwhelming. In the end, how we choose to think about and respond to whatever is confronting us will make the difference between slaying the giant or being at its mercy.
Lets Talk Perspective - To learn more about this author, visit Karla Robertson's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. |
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Karla's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 |
|
Karla Robertson Video - Karla Robertson has been guiding executives to drive change, improve their leadership, and build great teams for 10 years. Before becoming an executive coach, Karla spent over 10 years in sales where she was ranked #1 in the country for six consecutive years at one of America's largest mortgage companies. At this company, she also breathed new life into existing programs through innovation and expert implementation. She then shifted industries and achieved similar results as a sales executive with a pharmacy benefit management company. She initiated a task force and led a team to recraft and implement a new sales process. Using the new approach, Karla was the driving force that boosted sales and reclaimed this company's place as a dominant entity in their industry.
Karla has been a corporate coach, working with executives and their teams, since 1999. She is a professional certified coach, holds a B.S. in psychology and marketing, and is a Myers-Briggs MBTI® Master Practitioner. She is thought-provoking speaker, and motivational force as an executive coach and meeting facilitator. She is an active volunteer for The Make-A-Wish Foundation of NJ and an active board member of the New Jersey Professional Coaches Association.
|
|
|
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Mastering Change Vertical Market Ad Network Law of Attraction in Action Memorandum Template 1 Pro-Forma Template |
|
 | ||
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||