It’s All About Perspective

Imagine if you went to a doctor and when you did the usual ‘Hi, how are you?’ they answered ‘Well, I’m still here’. How would you feel? Would you actually want to receive a consultation from someone with an attitude like that?

The reason I ask is because this happened to my brother. It wasn’t at a doctor’s surgery though, it was at his daughter’s school. He said to his child’s teacher' ‘How are you?’ and the answer was a roll of the eyes and the words ‘Well, I’m still here’.

It was 8:15am.

Now I don’t know what that teacher was going through or if it were just a bad moment but that stuck with my brother and subsequently stuck with me.

The thought of my niece sitting for 6 hours in a classroom with someone whose attitude is ‘Well, I’m still here’ fills me with sadness.

Now chances are, this teacher might not have really felt like that (or did she??) but my brother’s perspective of that teacher has changed.

If you are a school leader who is ‘always busy, too much to do’ then chances are you won’t have people wanting to talk to you for fear that they might disturb you.

If you are a teacher who is ‘only here until I win Lotto’ how do you suppose your students will face your class and what kind of impact will you have?

Just as we can choose our attitude, we can choose our perspective. Take a moment to step away from your own eyes (metaphorically, not physically… that would be weird!) and think about the view of you from different perspectives. If need be, literally sit in the chair of one of your students and consider what do they hear, see and feel.

A little sarcastic quip like ‘Well, I’m still here’ might be nothing to you but it’s something to those who view you. It says that there is no changing your mind, things are dull and you are not wanting to be in the presence of the person who just spoke to.

I am not saying you need to turn into the poster child for toxic positivity here but what I am saying is consider a rephrase to provide space and perspective, especially to those you encounter and impact on the average day.

When people ask how I am and I might not be in the ‘Great!’ mood, I swap it out with ‘I am looking forward to seeing what today holds’ or ‘ready for today’. It provides a different perspective, one that is hope-filled and steeped in possibility.

At the end of the day, you are not a rock, a tree or a lighthouse and you have choice over whether you are ‘still here’ or somewhere else. It’s all about perspective really.