In Andy Andrews’ The Noticer, we encounter a character named Jones, who meets people at times in their lives, when they are stuck – desperate, hopeless, about to divorce, pursuing an unhelpful direction, et cetera. It usually takes only one or a few good conversations with him for them to change their mind on the struggle they are facing. They are always better off for it.
It is uplifting and inspirational. It is not my usual fare, but I do enjoy this book and have read it a few times over the years. Stories are a powerful means for conveying ideas. This book presents simple stories to illustrate a simple idea: The value of perspective. Jones of course brings perspective and helps them see things in a different way.
Actually, it also shows, without being particularly explicit about it, the value of something so obvious that it is, once again, easy to overlook: Usually, more than one perspective can exist for a given situation. Some perspectives are more helpful than others.
Let’s take a look.
In a literal sense, you can interpret perspective as a physical point of view. Where you are standing affects what you are seeing, your perspective. It is more broadly about perception, of course, since where you are physically located will also affect what you might be able to hear, smell or otherwise sense.
Whether you are currently one of many pedestrians around Times Square in New York City, gazing out the window aboard a transatlantic flight on your way to London or are enjoying a quiet, sunny afternoon hiking to a lake in a national park – the sights, sounds and smells around you will differ from place to place.
Your perspective depends on your environment and where you are within that environment, in relation to the thing you are observing. And it depends on you.
Mental perspectives are more abstract. Your overall views (preferences, biases, et cetera) are informed by who you are and what you have experienced. Intellectually, you come at a situation from some direction, some angle. So your perspective will be a mental point of view, towards something.
Zooming in or out – over space or time – on a situation or utilizing mental models and other thinking tools will provide different lenses to examine an issue and help provide other perspectives.
Your position, whether physical (such as by literally choosing a location) or intellectual (by thinking in a particular way) informs your perspective. Change your position to help change your perspective.
A better position will afford a clearer view. Different views can add up to more complete pictures.
Of course, a different person will inherently be positioned to have perspectives different than yours. That person is, after all, not you. They may know more (or differently) about the thing you are exploring.
Perspectives inform what you see. More complete views will hopefully help you think clearer and make better decisions. If the outlook seems only grim or you have been stuck, not making any progress, you might be missing a perspective or two.
This does seem obvious here, but it can be easy not to notice there.