A few years ago, a friend’s teenage daughter got new glasses. Unbeknownst to her mom, she’d been putting off getting them for some time. As it turned out, her eyesight was quite poor and she was really struggling to see things at a distance. When her new glasses finally arrived, the girl was shocked at what she could see. The leaves had defined edges, not just a blur of color! The new lenses allowed her to see the world in a new way and it was glorious!
The same principle can be applied figuratively to our journey through life and business. Sometimes we have been looking at a thing a certain way for so long that we don’t even realize we need new lenses. In this way, we can liken the lenses to different perspectives that ask different questions in order to create a solution. Most of us, for various reasons, tend to problem-solve in a particular way. We have a default that we apply to every challenge. But, the truth is that sometimes tough problems or life transitions require completely new lenses if we want to arrive at a solution that works.
Our default lens is often based on our personality, our life experiences, and our particular leanings and giftings/strengths. For example, a philosopher might come at a problem exploring all of the logical possibilities without importing much emotion. An artist might pursue the solution that values the most beautiful approach over the most efficient approach. A scientist might empirically test the different options to discover what is best. There are hundreds of different lenses. And none of them is “right” per se. There simply isn’t a single correct lens for every problem. Each lens/perspective employs a different strategy, asking different questions and yielding different answers.
How does this help you? The next time you have a problem where the solution isn’t immediately obvious, you might find that you’re not asking the right questions. Perhaps you simply need to give youself permission to try on a new lens. Sometimes when we come to a fork in the road, we feel uncertain about which direction to take or what we are actually capable of accomplishing. We often load ourselves down with expectations and assumptions about what we must continue to do or how we must live, so that it gets in the way of thinking about our options. Looking with fresh eyes can give us new insights where there were just blurs before.
If you’re stuck in the log jam of indecision, we want to help! I’ve created a fun, simple exercise to help you consider your options by seeing a situation through a different lens. You can find it here.
We hope your new lens will help you see your world in a fresh, new way and get past the current challenge!
