Taking a different perspective

Do you consider yourself to be rebellious? How would others describe you? As a rebellious or an obedient person?

Do you consider yourself to have a good taste in fashion? How would others describe you? As a person with good or bad taste in fashion?

Do you consider yourself to be a good team player? How would others describe you? As a good or a bad team player?

Do you consider yourself to be a safe driver? How would others describe you? As a safe or a reckless driver?

Do you consider yourself to be disciplined at taking care of your health? How would others describe you? As being disciplined or undisciplined in the way you exercise and eat?

How do you see yourself? How do others see you?

How do you think you behave? How do others think you behave?

These are two of the elements of your self-consciousness (Fenigstein, Scheier and Buss 1975): Your private self-consciousness and your public self-consciousness.

Private self-consciousness indicates your knowledge of your own inner aspects, your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. That is, your awareness of your perception of yourself. How do you see yourself? How do you think you behave?

Public self-consciousness reflects your knowledge of your outer aspects, your physical appearance and behaviors. That is, your awareness of others’ perception of you. How do others see you? How do others think you behave?

~

Do you have a dog? What do you think your dog thinks when they or smell you?

If you do not have a dog, have you ever visited a friend who has a dog or passed by a dog in the street that locked their eyes on you? What do you think that dog thought at that moment when they saw or smelled you?

What does a dog, your dog think? Can you imagine? Can you imagine embodying your dog walking on four legs, having a tail, having an amazing sense of smell, having a jaw that has the bite force of 230-250 PSI, and looking at yourself, your dog’s owner? By the way, just to put in perspective, your bite force is around 120-140 PSI.

Billy Collins is a poet who explores the topic of what dogs think. Here are two of his poems entitled “A Dog on his Master” and “The Revenant” in his own voice on TED stage:

Billy Collins

~~

Have you ever written an “I am” poem? It has a very easy structure to follow:

I Am

I am (two special characteristics separated by “and”)

I wonder (something you are actually curious about)

I hear (an imaginary sound)

I see (an imaginary sight)

I want (an actual desire)

I am (the first line of the poem restated)

I pretend (something you pretend to do)

I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)

I touch (an imaginary touch)

I worry (something that really bothers you)

I cry (something that makes you very sad)

I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

I understand (something you know is true)

I say (something you believe in)

I dream (something you actually dream about)

I try (something you make an effort to do)

I hope (something you actually hope for)

I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

Why don’t you compose an “I am” poem about yourself?

Next, why don’t you compose a “You are” poem about you from the perspective of your pet if you have one, or from the perspective of a crow, or a squirrel, or an ant that you may have seen during a walk earlier today? I suggest a structure below for such a “You are"“ poem.

Give it a try. Let your pet or an animal that you randomly encountered earlier today compose a poem about you.

Just remember that they cannot know your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. They can only see your outer appearance and behaviors.

You Are

You are (two special characteristics separated by “and”)

You wonder (something the narrator may think that you are actually curious about)

You hear (an imaginary sound that the narrator may think that you hear)

You see (an imaginary sight that the narrator may think that you see)

You want (an actual desire that the narrator may think that you have)

You are (the first line of the poem restated)

You pretend (something that the narrator may think that you pretend to do)

You feel (a feeling that the narrator may think that you have about something imaginary)

You touch (an imaginary touch that the narrator may think that you feel)

You worry (something that the narrator may think that really bothers you)

You cry (something that the narrator may think that makes you very sad)

You are (the first line of the poem repeated)

You understand (something that the narrator may think that you know is true)

You say (something that the narrator may think that you believe in)

You dream (something that the narrator may think that you actually dream about)

You try (something that the narrator may think that you make an effort to do)

You hope (something that the narrator may think that you actually hope for)

You am (the first line of the poem repeated)

How does your private self-perception differ from your “imagined” public self-perception?

~~

The ability to change your viewpoint when looking at an object, a person (including yourself), a place, or a problem will allow you to think differently about the object, the person, the place or the problem. This ability to think differently, is the essence of divergent thinking…