Understanding Perspectives

   We all are born different and have a variety of idiosyncrasies. Due to these idiosyncrasies we have different perspectives. The difference in perspectives leads to clashes between people when they are with one another - at home / at the workplace / any situation where there are 2 or more than 2 persons. Things can get horrendously chaotic when there is a clash of perspectives. At the home front there is no peace and harmony between the family members. At the workplace it is highly stressful to work with colleagues / bosses who do not empathise and try to understand your perspective.
   Perspective is what one individual feels about something. My perspective is my reality because I have programmed myself to believe a particular thing in a particular way / situation. It is my personal way of thinking which has been ingrained in me due to the kind of life experiences I have had. My values, my state of mind and the assumptions that I have for a certain issue / situation - all these shape my perspective.  But to communicate well with others I should be aware that my perspectives do not hinder my communication with others.
   There are ways to understand the perspectives of  others around you. Perspective - taking is a skill wherein we can take the perspective of others and be watchful of our life and decisions. Simply put, perspective taking is stepping into the shoes of the other person and trying to understand a situation from the point of view of the other person. It feels good to read such words but this task is really daunting. How many times have we tried this? Have we failed or succeeded? Has it been for a short / long period? As humans it is tough to continue doing this because of our own egos, self respect and many other reasons. But if we take it step by step in life may be it would benefit us.
   Perspective - seeking assists one in reaching out to others and knowing their perspectives. It prepares you to be mentally authentic and true while listening to the views / opinions / perspectives of others. You are curious to know and learn more from the perspectives of others. The loop hole in this is that we get pleased when we meet people who validate our perspectives and due to this we may get assured for our own perspectives. At the same time when we come across new perspectives other than ours we can know the blind spots or explore new vistas and find the authenticity of our decisions.
   Perspective - coordinating helps one to have a understanding of the perspectives of others and to learn, relearn and unlearn the lessons of our life. Perspective - coordinating helps us to minutely observe what everyone shared with you and what picture do they have of the world around. How a situation / decision impacted them? What is your response to the perspective shared by a particular person? Will it impact your decision making and help you to have an understanding of  variety of perspectives of others? Are they having a bigger  / smaller picture; if smaller can you to show them the bigger one? These questions could be asked to yourself for better understanding and coordination of the perspectives of others.
   In the end, one must remember that as we are all heterogenous we are bound to have a variety of perspectives. But one must learn to be empathetic towards all and understand their perspectives without bias and without being judgmental. This can be a taxing task with people who are rigid and insensitive towards you because they fake that they are listening to you. As soon as you finish they give you philosophical dialogues and show you their perspective by citing examples that prove them right. Try to communicate more with those persons where you have strenuous relationships. You can try following these steps of perspective - taking / seeking / coordinating as required and try to make things fruitful. Do not neglect the fact that howsoever you try to change your perspective for others they are going to deal / treat you the way they want. Do not be disheartened by such people and blame / label the entire humanity for this. Live with your peace of mind without trying to shatter the peace of others. In the end it is how you treat yourself despite the odds and keep going in the journey of life.