Getting a fresh perspective

Statistics lie.

I’ve always had a tough time with numbers. How do you tell the difference between 50,000 and 50,000,000? I look at them and I see two big numbers. It’s like a Fun House of Mirrors. I look at one number and it looks huge. I look at the other and it looks the same.

I’ve always had issues differentiating the abstract. I get that ten is bigger than two, but when you start to get really big, the numbers all run together in my brain. (Yes, this is a Reason #931 why I prefer words over numbers and could never work as an accountant!)

I started to better understand numbers and statistics though when teachers would put context and story behind the figures. For example, there are more than 8 billion people living on Earth today. When a teacher compared those 8 billion to 100 people, I started to see the world in context and my role in it

I write today in my post, If there were 100 people in the world?, on The Heart of the Matter, on how putting the numbers in context showed me that I was not just a number, but when you compared my situation to billions of other people around the globe, I was actually very lucky.

I learned from that experience that sometimes we walk through the world with our head down and our eyes a few feet ahead on the sidewalk in front of us, when really we should be looking up and aware of everything else that is happening around us.

For instance, yes, I might not have felt all that lucky around my friends. I might have thought we were all generally gifted with the same skills and talent, but I was actually extremely fortunate. I was able to pursue my dreams.

Instead of my glass being half empty, my glass was quite full. How do you keep perspective? How has it helped you to face life’s highs and lows.

Related Story:

If there were 100 people in the world?

on the Heart of the Matter.

Image by Pexels.

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29 thoughts on “Getting a fresh perspective”

  2. There is always *something* to be grateful for… shelter, a smile from a stranger, a call from your mother. I try to keep perspective by keeping my antenna out for those small things, and then taking some time to feel grateful. Even if your life is absolutely falling apart, perspective helps us continue to move forward with hope for the future.

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  3. Brian, I appreciate and embrace your perspective. 🤗 I may not have looked at it numerically as you have done, but I am on the same wavelength as you. This really stood out for me my friend:

    “I learned from that experience that sometimes we walk through the world with our head down and our eyes a few feet ahead on the sidewalk in front of us, when really we should be looking up and aware of everything else that is happening around us.”

    Great post and lesson for today. 👏🏼🥰💖 Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Yes, among the populations of the earth, I am extremely privileged. I try to keep this in mind, no matter what I’m experiencing. But yeah…it’s pretty easy to get rather myopic. So, thank you for this valuable reminder!

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  7. The 100 People approach that you shared in your HOTM post definitely helps out things into perspective, Brian.

    I think reflection and writing – with distance from a situation – help me put into perspective and context too.

    Numbers as they get bigger truly become conceptual. I remember watching a video comparing 1 million seconds (11 days) vs 1 billion seconds (31 years) and that just blew me away with the context.

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  8. We live in a very privileged society by way of so many things that others are denied based on so many arbitrary factors. We can never lose sight of that fact and need to stay in touch with what reality means to others who may have less and ultimately struggle more. Life can change instantly, things can be taken away and my privilege can be gone or transferred by the will of someone else. I try not to forget for a moment what I have, what I have been able to accomplish and remember that none of it may last. I don’t ever want to believe that I deserve more or feel entitled to more.

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    1. A couple of corporate writers and I used to regularly do lunch with a friend from another department. We would always joke that we invited her to go with us because, otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to figure out each person’s portion and the tip!!!! Nothing worse than a bunch of writers looking over a bill. Ha, ha.

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  10. A story along with the numbers does provide more meaning, yes. Word problems are another matter. 😁 Right you are… many “walk through the world with [their] head down” looking at their phones.

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    1. Too many folks walk with their heads down . . . actually very sad. I had to laugh though when you mentioned word problems. I love words, but I hated seeing word problems on math tests. I always read way too much into the problem and what the teacher was asking for? Ugh, some bad memories there. Ha, ha.

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