My Dad and I took some photography classes together with I was in high school. One of the first principles they taught us was, how to focus. Using the lens to zoom in or zoom out to the right place is essential for obtaining an accurate picture.
Our Minds are Like a Camera Lens
This principle applies to our minds as well. It’s important to know where to focus—or we won’t get an accurate picture. Distorted perception, like a distorted picture, is unpleasant and can lead to an incorrect understanding of what’s really going on.
When the Picture is Blurry
In order to get a close up of something sometimes photographers use a telephoto lends. If you zoom in too close to something however it becomes fuzzy, and unclear. Even if the object is clear, usually the background is blurred.
Sometimes we do this with our problems. The brain prioritizes negative events or feelings, so understandably, we zoom in on them. We process negative more thoroughly than positive things probably because evolutionarily it was helpful to recognize negative things. It kept us alive. However, the more we focus on our problems, often the bigger they seem. Sometimes we can become so focused on our problem we lose perspective.
When You Lose Perspective
After my mom passed away from Ovarian cancer, there was a time that I only focused on her loss. I remember coming home from the funeral and having a hard time doing the normal things of life. I remember thinking how strange it was that everything else went on like normal, but I felt different. I felt it was hard for others to “know” me if they didn’t know about my experience losing my mom. Grieving is healthy and necessary. However, at times I allowed it to overwhelm my identity and my interactions in ways that didn’t serve me.
Zoom Out
If a photographer is too close that the picture becomes blurry, they would zoom out in order to get a clearer picture and to see more of the surroundings. In our minds, this can mean broadening the things we think about, being willing to step back and look at our problem in a new way.
For me I began in a simple way trying to keep a gratitude journal. I challenged myself to think of 3 things I was grateful for each day. It forced me to see beyond myself and my grief to a larger world. As I looked broader I began to find lots of wonderful relationships and things going on around me. Slowly I was able see a broader picture. It didn’t mean I wasn’t sad about losing my mother—just that it wasn’t overwhelming everything else.
When the Picture is Too Broad
In order to get a wide shot—often in landscape photography–sometimes a photographer will put on a wide-angle lens. This allows everything in a wide span to be in focus. Sometimes this wide-angle perspective of things can be helpful; it might help us see a vision of where we want to go, or inspire us to set a big goal. But sometimes when we focus on the big picture, things can seem overwhelming.
When You Feel Overwhelmed Because It’s Too Hard or Too Much
When I worked in the health field, people often knew what they wanted; they wanted to lose weight, or lower their blood pressure or get off their cholesterol meds etc. Often they even knew what they needed to do with regard to their nutrition or exercise. Often when they thought of everything they needed to do, they felt overwhelmed. And instead they did nothing. Looking at everything together wasn’t helpful. In their minds it seemed impossible.
Zoom Out
In this case, mentally zooming in and breaking the goal or larger problem down to simple parts or steps can be helpful in making things more manageable. The brain is much more willing to approach smaller pieces of something. As we broke their goals down into simple do-able steps, people began to make changes. It felt possible.
Changing Focus
The amazing thing about our brains is that they are capable of changing their focus. When we get to focused on a problem we can stop, and zoom out with grateful awareness. When we find ourselves overwhelmed by the immensity of a task or problem, we can zoom in and start with one small piece. Changing perspective can help us change the way we see things and the way we feel. It can make the difference between a blurry life and a beautiful life.
How to Change Perspective
- Our emotions are excellent indicators that it’s time to change perspectives.
- If you feel self-pity or hopelessness it’s time to zoom out.
- If you feel overwhelm, it’s time to zoom in.
