There’s an old Indian parable about 5 blind men who encounter an elephant for the first time.
Curious to know exactly what an elephant is, they approach it and attempt to describe it by touch.
The first man grabs the trunk and says, “Ah, an elephant is thick and round like a snake.”
The second, wrapping his arms around a leg responds, “No, an elephant is a pillar, like a tree trunk.”
The third, pressing against the elephant’s side disagrees further, “What are you talking about? An elephant is clearly a kind of wall.”
The fourth, grabbing onto an ear says, “No, no, no, an elephant surely is thin and flexible like a fan.”
The fifth, grabbing ahold of the tail says, “You’re all wrong, an elephant is obviously a kind of rope.”
The parable is about perspective and the value of being able to see the larger picture beyond our own limited experience.
Of all the traits necessary to build a successful career as a creator, I think this type of perspective is one of the most essential. And yet one we often overlook it, spending little–if any–time developing it.
The Importance of Perspective
We each have our own perspective, of course. But like the blind men in the parable, it’s incomplete.
This incomplete perspective is at the root of many of our creative frustrations.
Lack of perspective leads us to misjudge the importance of various aspects of our work, wasting time perfecting things that won’t make a difference while ignoring the things that will. It opens the door to self-centeredness and entitlement, thinking we deserve more than we’ve received, and paves the way for many avoidable mistakes.
A complete perspective on the other hand lubricates almost every aspect of our creative journey.
Perspective allows us to see clearly how our work fits into the world. It opens our eyes to needs and opportunities we would otherwise miss. It centers us and keeps us grounded, as it imparts a clear sense of both how far we’ve come and how far we still have yet to go. Maybe most importantly, a complete perspective allows us to respond appropriately and productively to the unexpected situations we encounter along our way.
A rich and nuanced perspective allows us to rise above the fog that engulfs so much of our creative work and accurately assess the landscape we inhabit.
Despite the host of benefits, however, we rarely think about our perspective as something to be honed and developed.
Seeking Out Perspective
I think the lack of attention given to developing our perspective is due to the fact that we generally think of perspective as something we gain passively as we go through life.
And we do.
But we can also actively seek out and expand it.
Seeking out perspective, it turns out, has a lot of overlap with seeking out Expansive Experiences. While gaining perspective might not come with the visceral physical effects that often accompany Expansive Experiences, both of these concepts are rooted in the idea of understanding our (and our work’s) place in the larger world.
The best way to gain perspective, then, is to learn broadly about the world outside our tiny sliver of experience.
This is easily achieved by reading books, taking courses, and consuming content on topics we’re interested in, but which might be entirely disconnected from the work we do.
These resources are available in abundance, and many of us already aspire to be more well-rounded people with broader, richer perspectives.
Despite this desire, we tend not to prioritize this type of growth and learning as it rarely feels as though it will lead to tangible results, such as better work, better clients, more money, and forward progress. Further specializing in our core skills on the other hand feels like a surer path to concrete–and perhaps more immediate–outcomes.
In the short run, this is probably true.
In the long run, however, the equation flips.
This is because as we enrich and broaden our perspective we realize that almost everything ties back into our work, intersecting, connecting, and influencing it in some way or another.
What’s more, it’s these oblique and abstract influences that make us and our work stand out.
A rich perspective allows us to stumble across interesting ideas elsewhere and see how they could be applied to our craft. This gives us an unfair advantage over everyone else in our space who is pulling their ideas from the same stale pool of books, podcasts, and newsletters.
If we want our creative output to stand out, our creative input has to stand out as well.
More interesting work, however, is just one of the benefits of a rich and full perspective.
Perspective is in Short Supply
Whether you’re a business owner, service provider, creator, artist, or all of the above, it’s important to realize that there’s no shortage of ultra-specialized, ultra-skilled people in any niche.
We can join the chase, and over time become highly skilled & specialized ourselves. But sooner or later we reach a point of diminishing returns with the specialized knowledge and skills we acquire.
What there is a shortage of, however, in every niche imaginable, is people who are solidly skilled, but also have a rich and full perspective. This combination is infinitely more valuable than specialized skill alone.
Perspective allows us to more easily adapt to a rapidly changing world, where any one of our primary skills might be outmoded in 5-year’s time. It also allows us to more clearly look ahead, and anticipate, prepare, and retool for what’s coming down the pike.
Perhaps most importantly, perspective imparts resiliency.
It puts both our successes and failures in context, it helps us see when to persevere with a project and when to move on, and it keeps us grounded as we weather the ups, downs, twists, and turns of a creative life.
In short, perspective is a creative superpower.
But it’s one that must continually be sought out, earned, and added to.
Explore how to navigate a creative life that matters
This article originally appeared in my weekly Creative Wayfinding Newsletter. Each issue is the product of a week of work, and contains something not available for sale.
A fresh perspective, a shot of encouragement when you need it most, and maybe even some genuine wisdom from time to time.
Each week, we explore a different facet of the question “How do we navigate the wilds of creating work that matters?”
It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
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