Life is equivocal but living is resolute. A life with a full conscience is what everyone looks out for but very few are fortunate enough to acquire the ability of insight. Although, it’s difficult to achieve this knowledge of wisdom, it’s not impossible and one can always aspire to become his own Gautama Buddha!
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”
— Brian Tracy
Gautama Buddha was a person, who not only left his family and friends to seek wisdom but also left his kingdom where he lived for 29 years as a prince. For him, material wealth was not life’s ultimate goal.
He wanted to conquer his ‘Self’. Meanwhile, he realized that the Self cannot be conquered but deceived. He never gave up. He preached and meditated for 49 days after which he was awakened. It was the time of his resurrection. He was reborn. Everything was different for him. Everything was new. He was alive. This quality is onerous to acquire and the one who attains it is the real successful person in life.
People love to live in their comfort zone but the moment they are told to leave it, they stumble. This is natural. It’s not easy to mislay the everyday life one is living. But the moment one decides to quit it and try new things, he attains a sense of affirmation which shapes his personality and makes him independent.
Why is it important to develop a perspective?
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.”
― George Eliot
With larger perspective, you can vividly discern and thus broadening your horizon towards various aspects of life makes living a lot easier. Though it is rather imperative to grow as a person, it’s equally cardinal to widen our views.
So, how do you achieve this? Well, everyone is different and it depends on the person if he wants to enlarge his perspective or not. But if you’re that person who is desperate to proliferate their mind with a bigger picture then follow these 6 steps:
1. Meditate
“Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.”
― Criss Jami
Meditation is that medicine which not only increases your concentration and self-awareness but also helps in reducing stress and aging. When you meditate, you migrate into a state of trans- where everything becomes lucid. This is when your creativity emerges and you think differently. For you, every situation then has two faces and you’re much clear about the consequences associated with them.
Of all the factors which help in widening your perspective, it is better that you first try to focus on yourself and your thoughts. Unclear mind and malign thoughts lead to a catastrophic outcome. Therefore, you should meditate every single day of your life.
2. Believe in the Divine
Yes, believe in the Divine. I am not kidding.
“The reality is, my prayers don’t change God. But, I am convinced prayer changes me. Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself.”
— Lysa TerKeurst
I used to be an atheist and hardly felt that worshiping God did anything better. I used to think, whatever you are is because of your doings. But things started falling apart and I was failing in every aspect of my life until I began praying. It made me realize that when I prayed I remained happy throughout the day and I had more energy to do the work. It gave me an immense power to tackle the obstacles.
In fact, studies show that when you believe in something or someone your confidence increases exponentially. When you believe you can do something, it means you have faith in yourself and that you have the ability to accomplish a particular task. This ultimately makes you believe in the almighty and hence, praying is considered an important part of every individual’s life.
3. Travel
Travelling forces you into situations where you don’t have immediate simulations and gratifications. It exposes you to show your existential potential and the power to excel when you’re not in your comfort zones.
When you travel, you’re far from your comfort zone and this is when you can explore new places and different cultures and traditions. Additionally, when you travel, your inner Self-awakens. You begin to distinguish your likes and dislikes and find what you really want from life. In other words, you find who you really are.
4. Meet new people
Last year I traveled to a nearby village situated on the outskirts of my town. There I met this farmer who was struggling to grow crops due to a scarcity of rainfall. He told me how he was managing to feed his family which made me realize how great-full I was to not going through such pain.
After that trip, I wasn’t the same. I learned that nothing in life comes easily. You have to pay every penny to achieve whatever you desire.
Every person on this planet is struggling or fighting something or the other. When you meet people you know nothing about, you experience a life learning lesson which keeps you down to earth. Your narcissism vanishes and you think for the benevolent of others.
5. Try new things
When I was a kid, I was never afraid to try new things which were not even difficult but dangerous as well. In our childhood years, we have very little understanding of things around us. We are in our learning stages and this is when we try numerous different things which are not only new to us but far from our comfort zone.
As we grow up, this tendency to learn new things or even try diminishes and we’re succumbed to peer pressure. In this course, we lose our desires and start becoming afraid of things. In those times, innovation should be striven to keep you alive in every step you take in life.
When you try new things, you feel an urge to do it again and again. For instance, if you’re scared of bungee jumping and never tried, you should definitely be in the front seat to try it once in your life. Experience your life without fears. In the end, you’ll feel proud of yourself because you’ll have lived a life without fears and regrets, which is ultimately a great achievement.
6. Read new books
Last but not least, you should read books. Several state this in their articles but do not really mean it. When you read books, you begin to live the world of the author’s thoughts and you explore it in the author’s perspective.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin
You learn about another world. By reading books, you get a glimpse of other cultures and places. Books expand your horizons, letting you see other countries, other people and so many other things you have never seen. Your imagination improves as well as your critical thinking. It’s a perfect way to improve your perspective exponentially.
Perspective is something that you acquire from experience and hard work. What’s more important is how you carry it along.
The knowledge that you procure throughout your course of life is limitless but the way you perceive it, matters.