Learn to see differently

I write a lot about change.  It seems that change is a factor in everyone’s life.  Sometimes this change is a positive one, sometimes negative.  Sometimes change is sought after and other times we try to avoid it.

While many of us want the world around us to change to better fit us, the reality is that it rarely does.  In fact, many times things change and force us to adjust. 

But it can be incredibly difficult to actually change or go along with some great external change.  It is scary and we never know what lies on the other side of the change.

But what I have found is that real change takes a slightly different form.  Real change forces us to see the world differently.  Many times this is due to an extreme event, loss of a loved one, loss of a career, etc. or it comes from learning something new that changes your perspective. 

There is a quote by Marcel Proust who says, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

If I read that quote 15 years ago it wouldn’t mean much to me.  But since then I have had several transformations that give great meaning to those words. 

Learning to look at things systematically is one of these changes.  As I started to see things differently the world around me changed.  Suddenly areas of extreme confusion made sense.  I could see multiple angles and realized that everything is more complex than we realize.  Everything is interconnected and we can’t just separate out the elements that we like or the parts that prove our point, we have to fully understand the overall system. 

This went right along with reading a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer called, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life.  In the book, I found insight that conflicted with many of my beliefs.  But as I stretched to truly open my eyes to this new way of thinking, I found another side that was ignored my entire life, but somehow shockingly true. 

Many times transformations come because we are forced into a new normal.  Some times it is a new piece of insight that forces us to change how we process the world.  But regardless of the trigger, the change almost always comes in the form of thinking differently, seeing the world differently. 

So if you are struggling to find yourself or struggling to reach the goals you have set, start to change how you think about those areas.  Start to take an open perspective to learn what is being presented.  It might take some flexibility and soul searching but coming out on the other end will completely change the world around you, yet nothing will really change.  Instead the change will reside within you, by giving you new eyes.