Lead. Learn. Grow.

I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective lately and how perspective can impact our life. What happens when those perspectives are too limited? What happens when your perspective only extends to the next 24 hours or the end of the workweek? I couldn’t get it out of my head. I got stuck reflecting on this idea because I work with young people and adults who walked through our doors carrying with them a perspective that will alter the trajectory of their lives. Their next great opportunity and so much more could be on the other side of the mountain in front of them but without perspective, they will be less likely to attain it.

This spring our boys basketball team competed in a playoff game in Bostic, NC located in the South Mountains.  Driving up the mountains, my perspective was drastically different from when I reached Bostic which sits at an elevation of 948’. There were times when all I could see were the trees and winding road in front of me. At some points, I could not see the mountain tops and my destination seemed so distant. Driving along on the road, I felt small and insignificant as I took in the mountain range. However, there was a basketball championship on the line and I was determined to stay the course, the view from higher up held so much promise. From 948’, I could look back across the expanse and see the road I’d traveled. But not only that, I could see farther in many directions. My perspective had expanded from the narrow road traveled to the vast, open opportunity waiting from the top.

How many times have we allowed fear, self-doubt, haters/naysayers, procrastination, and our past to get in our way? These things are like the winding, tree-lined roads that block and limit our perspective. What’s stopping you from broadening your perspective? What’s standing between you changing locations (metaphorically) to see more of what could be? Sometimes all it takes is traveling up that first mountain to see the promise that could be your future. Once we realize this for ourselves, we are better able to help others embrace a larger and grander perspective that is our for the taking.

How many people will not get to experience the variety of possibilities that unfold when they fail to expand their perspective? Don’t allow yourself to be limited by your perspective. Are you dreaming too small?  What mountain will you ascend next? Your perspective will alter your objective. Dream Big.