Turning the world upside down: what happens when we shift our perspective

For three minutes today, as I laid on my back outside, I changed my reality. What occurred was both mundane and magical.

As I laid there staring at the tree in front of me, and the clouds directly behind it, a small voice inquired in my mind, “Who is to say that where you are looking is up?”

“Who is to say that the leaves that are falling are falling down?”

After all, for all I know, if I were to zoom out to space, I might see that my location on the Earth means that I am hanging ‘upside down’ at this very moment.  And then again, from that perspective, what is even right side up?

Suddenly I watched as the clouds became whale-like creatures drifting through the ocean of a sky. Protecting me from the infinity of the sky were the branches of the tree that acted like a floor. Every once in a while, leaves would leap up towards me, as chandeliers of flowers hung down around me. 

Nothing factually changed. I did not step away from reason or fact. I was not flooded with delusion.

I was still aware that gravity was binding my back to the soil against it. But gravity is a force dictating the planet’s central direction. The force of gravity does not need to dictate my sense of direction or perspective. 

In fact, one could easily make an argument that a loose helium balloon is not floating upwards. Rather, one could say that a loose helium balloon is simply finding its way to the part of our atmosphere where it will be most at equilibrium with its surroundings. 

And they would still be correct.

Shifting perspective is a skill. Practice it.

An enormous part of our daily lives are constructed by our perspectives. And more of our perspectives than we might like to admit are created by default. 

Shifting your perspective is one of the greatest tools necessary for growth and change. And yet, it can feel very difficult to practice. 

When you purposefully shift your perspective, you might think for a moment - am I delusional? This is not only extremely normal, I would argue that this moment of pause is a guaranteed phase you will pass through when popping your perspective from one place to the next. 

Yet most people encounter this phase, and scared by the possibility that they might indeed be crazy, do not continue their inquiry beyond this point. They freeze. They stay put. They stay small. 

Now, in this week of new beginnings and resolutions, is a time to examine these patterns. Do you want to grow your business to a place it’s never been? Do you want to find a relationship more fulfilling than the ones you’ve ever had? Do you want to experience a level of happiness and contentment greater than you’ve ever felt?

Well, a perspective change (or more) will likely be necessary. It might be small. You may simply need to see that your goals are indeed possible. Or more specifically, you may need to see that you are capable of achieving those goals. 

No matter how simple the perspective change may seem, be aware that you will likely still come up against the phase of perceived delusion. And when you do, I might suggest that you take a moment, go outside, lay in the grass, and transform the sky that was above into the sky that is below. 

If you can shift your thinking there, you will be off to a good start.