We don't see through a solid. We see the light that is allowed to pass through it.
As I drove my son to school he asked me, “If ice and glass are solids, why can we see through them?” That was a question that I had often pondered through several chemistry and science courses. However, the way my son either phrased the question or the way I heard it shifted my whole perspective. He made me look at the problem in a different way and develop an answer that had eluded me for years.
“We don’t see through the ice or the glass.”, I said, “Their molecular structures allow white light waves to pass through them. We see the light that has passed through the solids. Similarly, white light does not pass through the human body. But X-rays do pass through our solid bodies and we can see the image on special film.”
Okay, I have to admit I was pretty astonished at my own erudite answer. I have not picked up science book in 20 years, but there it was, a description that made sense to both my son and me. I know that answer had been residing in my brain for years. It took a question from a different angle to shift my perspective on how I addressed the problem. Intrinsically I knew we did not see through anything. So my answer had to clear up that misconception created by lazy phraseology.
I should not be too surprised at finally having the ‘Aha’ moment derived from a change in perspective. Over the years I have actively tried to look at problems from different perspectives to find solutions. Often times I will put myself in someone else’s shoes (another poor analogy) to see how they view the problem or issues. The largest benefit to this is the empathy you develop for someone else’s fears.
The best example I might give is Medicare. Medicare beneficiaries are very nervous and frightened about changes to their benefits or the Medicare structure. From a person not on Medicare, purely looking at the economics the huge Medicare program, changes have to be made to save the entitlement program from overwhelming the Federal government with expenses. There are a whole host of suggestions to reduce Medicare costs from decreasing Doctor and hospital reimbursement, reducing services, increasing age, and limiting benefits.
This past Annual Enrollment Period I had the opportunity to talk to scores of beneficiaries from a variety of backgrounds. The bottom line is that they are scared about significant changes to Medicare. Their vantage point is created from being on a fixed income, limited resources, no opportunity to go get a part time job, the very real possibility of the need for increased medical services as they get older and limited mobility to change doctors or clinics. I had never considered the challenges that Medicare beneficiaries faced until I talked to numerous people all expressing the same concerns.
While I still believe we need to create a more efficient Medicare system, I am much more cognizant of supporting change that does not threaten the beneficiaries. This might be a novel approach, instead of having doctors, hospitals and insurance companies tell us how to save Medicare, how about asking the beneficiaries?
Another area where I changed my perspective was on the marketing of my business. After trying to break through the solid wall of traditional insurance marketing (repetitive phone calls post cards, print advertising, search engine advertising) I have changed my perspective. Instead of trying to sell a product, I decided to sell me. The shift in my perspective was not initiated by me but the people I knew and helped. It was apparent that they enjoyed working with me, the product that they needed was secondary. Consequently, I have moved more into social media as way to connect with people and introduce myself.
Perception is reality. I can’t change reality but I might be able to change my perspective that will in turn create a new perception. Once I have a new perception of the problem, more strategies and tools become available to create a solution. No longer do I need to see through the solid, I only have to see the light.