On our walk to school today, one of my kids pointed to a yard full of puffy white dandelions.
“Look…”
I looked and saw a yard the needed to be mowed. But he saw something different.
“There sure are a lot of wishes in this yard,” he said.
And then I saw them—all those wishes. I just needed a pointer on how to look properly.
Same yard, different interpretations. Clearly he got his mom’s optimism.
The perspective we take on the world around us affects our day-to-day well-being and behavior. It’s like the half-full, half-empty glass.
It happens all around. Where others see risk and likely failure, the entrepreneur sees opportunity. Where one colleague sees a goal-oriented boss, the other sees an asshole. Where one parent notices all the things their kid doesn’t yet do right, another cherishes how much their child has learned and continues to grow.
The difference isn’t in your eyes, it’s in your mind. And with practice, the perspective you take can become a choice.
Do you see weeds or wishes?