Point of View - How do you see the world around you?

Point of view

How do you see the world around you?

 

I have always wondered why some people can bring out the best in me while others bring out the worst. Have you ever wondered why you behave differently with different people around you? I do. And this perplexes me. I am basically the same person, then why this drastic behavioral difference? Do you wonder why something that seems ordinary to you is seen and enjoyed as extraordinary by others? I do. I am not talking about the life of the rich and luxury for poor. This post is not about that.

In this post I want to talk about how our point of view changes the world around us. Everything being same, we can experience it differently because of different perspectives. People being same we can act differently around them, because we view them differently.

Being a happy-go-lucky individual, I have always had a positive outlook towards life. I believe in the goodness in people and hope for this world.  But, apart from fairy tales (novels/movies), reality has mostly failed to impress me. I wonder why I find reality so ordinary. Is there a problem with my point of view? This line of thought got me intrigued and I realized that our point of view is what changes the world around us. People view this world and live this life differently, depending on how they see it.  Some people have pink glasses on them and find everything around them rosy and romantic; some are cynical and find this world dry and painful. Our point of view can be our curse or blessing for this life.

The curse 

I came from a middle class family. As a kid I loved watching airplanes, waving at them gave me that happy silly satisfaction. But when I traveled by air for the first, it felt so ORDINARY to me whereas my brother was so excited. It was my point of view for this world that spoiled that life event into an ordinary occurrence.

Recently, I went for a vacation to Maldives and stayed at a luxury resort that I had fancied for a longtime, but reality struck and I found that to be ordinary too. There I was in the lap of luxury…. a secluded Jacuzzi water bungalow surrounded by crystal clear waters and white sand beaches. It was a heaven on earth, so calm and beautiful with world class amenities. What more can you ask for? But apart from the fun things to do, I am ashamed to admit it to myself that I found the rest pretty Ordinary.

As you can already guess, it is a mammoth task to impress me. In my line of work I get to meet a lot of people. Most of them with outstanding achievements and few that can be called legendary. (I work with a contract R&D company and get to interact with scientists and very innovative, intelligent and inspirational individuals) In most cases my friends and acquaintances are impressed (I can’t cay easily impressed, trust me, they are naturally impressed) and I am often surprised that I find most of them ordinary. (No offence to anyone) there are only a few who impress me. (and those who do, do so a lot)

This may be the reason why I find solace in books, movies and television shows; all the things that portray normal life as extraordinary. This is the reason why I find people that I have read about, inspiring and may be if I met them in person, that illusion might break as my point of view strikes and makes everything ordinary. Do you find living vicariously more fascinating than the real life? I do and the reason for that is my point of view.

The blessing

Some people tell me about these amazing things, just every day occurrences and life events, but they make them sound amazing. (I know all of us portray our most glamorous front including me, but that is not what I am referring to here.) They are blessed with a point of view that makes life extraordinary. A friend of mine tells me about a normal business meeting where he won a contract for his company. It might be a weekly occurrence with him, but the way he looks at it is inspirational. It is a small victory that inspires him to work harder and inspires me to do my best at work.

Most of family and friends including my boss travel a lot; check out new restaurant in town; go on weekend getaways and they have all these amazing stories to tell. It might have been an ordinary holiday for me, but, they enjoy it and make it into a memorable life experience. It is their point of view that makes life extraordinary for them and for others like me who get to know about all these amazing places.

A friend of mine finds such deep rooted inspiration in his middle class background that he has gone on to be very successful. Other like I find faults and lack of opportunity in the same thing. His success is an inspiration of others including me. This is all because of a lot of hard work that he put in and that miraculous point of view.

Another friend of mine appreciates the struggles of his parents and those of everyday life and takes pleasure in living it. Be in talking to friends while struck in traffic. Be it hard work put in long office hours. Be it different cuisines and stays while on business travel. Be it simplicity of a meadow in a national park, a dark cloud a midst hills of Konkan or the glamour of a casino in Las Vegas. The beauty and intrigue of it all lies in his point of view.

This life

This life is a mixture of both, the blessing and the curse. Our point of view makes in blissful at times and painful at others. While people who fail to realize the awesomeness in ordinary, are cursed to live an ordinary life. They fail to be inspired by every day occurrences and in turn fail to inspire others with their efforts. On the other hand, people who discover the extraordinary in the ordinary live life fully, enjoy every moment to its fullest. Are grateful for this blessed life and make the most of it. It is usually these people who go on to be very successful in life both socially and economically. They get inspired with ordinary events and in turn inspire the people around you.

In the beginning of this post I had asked a question as to why do we act different with different people? At work, I am generally appreciated by all. I am good at my job. But, I realize now that for some people whom I find amazing (yes, even with my curse I find some people amazing.... :)) I usually do a very good job and for the managers that I find lousy, I end up doing a lousy job. I think we try to be better individuals with people who see the best in us and we succumb to our prejudices with people who undermine us.

I had also questioned why some of us find life ordinary while others enjoy it? I did not completely enjoy the most luxurious holiday possible on plant earth while others find a weekend get away in Konkan blissful. I think our point of view determines whether we find happiness in watch or reading about fairy tales, or living our lives, as if in a fairy tale.

How do you look at your life and this world around you? Share your experiences with me. Leave a comment or write to me at deeptiamitsrivastava@gmail.com.

To read more on how to maximize the joys of this life and make life more meaningful chick here.

The opinions expressed are those of the author only and not of any organization with which the author is affiliated.