From Power Outages to Pole Dancing: On Shifting Perspectives
A power outage in Malta and trying pole dancing helped me see the value in broadening my perspective, sparking creativity, empathy, and new ideas along the way. 💡
Crammed into a shuttle bus at Eindhoven airport after a trip to Malta, a friend and I struck up a conversation with a Maltese woman visiting her daughters in Amsterdam. We laughed about how the train ride from Eindhoven to Amsterdam was longer than the entire length of Malta (where it takes just about 45 minutes to drive across). She said her daughters had first found it scary to move to a big city, coming from a tiny island, but now it had opened their world. They now dreamed of living in New York someday! It’s amazing how a change in perspective can open up a world of possibilities. That got me thinking about perspective itself, but also my own perspective and how it has changed this past month.
It may be a strange idea, but perspective already comes into play with arbitrary things like power outages in Malta. Power outages are common in Malta due to an overloaded grid in Summer, and no one bats an eye when it happens. But that doesn’t include tourists. During my holiday a power outage occurred just as we had ordered food at a restaurant. Depending on the tourists’ perspective, they reacted in a range from understanding the local situation and enjoying the evening sun longer, to being unfamiliar with the situation and very uncomfortable with it. The difference became clearer when those with the ‘understanding’ (or wide) perspective came up with alternatives like using a non-electrical grill, and those with the more narrow perspective saw it as an opportunity to whine about having to wait longer for their food.
Being on holiday, immersed in an unfamiliar environment, naturally widens your outlook. I’ve noticed that the quantity of (business) ideas goes up during these breaks, and my friends have experienced the same. Our brains naturally rely on familiar patterns and categorization to conserve energy and increase efficiency, but when we encounter new situations, we're forced to use less familiar neural pathways, encouraging neuroplasticity, the ability to adapt and rewire connections over time. While some might call this "thinking outside the box", I’d argue it’s more about expanding the box itself. This allows us to be more flexible, empathetic, resilient, and capable of finding creative solutions to unfamiliar problems. All key skills for entrepreneurial success.
Over the past month, I’ve experienced 3 things that expanded my box, and while it’s far from an exhaustive list, these examples highlight how my shifts in perspective came from simple places. 📦
1. Hobbies
What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but never did? For me, it was pole dancing. I used to go to the gym but didn’t enjoy it, so I rarely pushed myself. A few months ago, I quit and finally tried pole dancing. Now, I go regularly and always look forward to it:
It’s changed my view of working out. Now it's fun! 💃🏻
I’ve gained a new spatial perspective; moves that seem simple when you’re standing upright become a challenge when you’re hanging upside-down.
I’ve come to appreciate how much effort goes into making those moves look effortless.
Angela Yu, co-founder of the London App Brewery, Udemy coding instructor to over 2.5 million students world-wide and my personal hero and inspiration, takes hobbies to a whole new level. She fully commits to a new hobby every year, whether it's surfing, chess or yoga, treating each with professional-level dedication. After a year of intense learning, she decides if it’s worth continuing. She adopted this approach after seeing how difficult it is for untrained minds to pick up new skills in her courses. From this, she concluded that the longer we stay in one role, the harder it becomes to adapt or see things from a fresh perspective.
Angela’s method of committing fully to new challenges shows how intentionally stretching our minds can dramatically shift the angle (ie. upside-down) at which we see the world. She couldn’t have known when she first taught herself iOS development, besides her full-time job as a doctor, that it would lead to her becoming an entrepreneur and top educator in programming, teaching millions of people to code.
2. Travel
People who return to the same holiday destination each year often benefit in several ways, according to a study by the University of North Carolina (Petrick, Morais & Norman, 2001). Familiarity brings comfort: they know where everything is, from the best restaurants to the closest restroom, and are less likely to have an unsatisfactory experience. Emotional attachment to the place deepens, and they can explore aspects they may have missed before. Plus, if they enjoyed it last time, chances are they'll have fun again.
However, as behavioral economist Dan Ariely points out in his book “Behavioral Economics Saved My Dog”, this routine has 3 drawbacks:
In the long term, it's worth exploring what different experiences out there truly suit you, before settling into a limited set of options.
Variety really is one of life’s greatest spices. 🌶️
The enjoyment of a holiday isn't just about the time you’re away. It includes the anticipation before, and reliving memories after the trip. Since the actual vacation is probably the shortest part of that process, it’s worth trying something new.
My trip to Malta only consisted of 4 days, yet it felt way longer. Dan suggests that time can seem to pass more slowly when a holiday (or any experience) is broken into distinct parts. When days are too similar, they blur together and time flies by in your mind. Mixing in different activities, even if they're relatively less enjoyable than your usual routine, creates a series of unique experiences rather than one continuous event and effectively slowing down time in your mind. ⏳
3. Experiences
Recently, I attended a modern opera; just 90 minutes long, in English, with Dutch subtitles. Despite all the conveniences, I still felt out of place and couldn’t fully enjoy the beautiful decor and voices. Was it a waste of time and money? No, or as Dan concludes; collecting experiences and skills now is like planting seeds for the future. While you can’t predict which ones will be most valuable, the more you try, the more likely something will prove useful later. It’s an investment of time today for future rewards, and every new experience broadens your perspective, preparing you for unexpected opportunities. Taking that chance is always worthwhile and at least now I know not to go to longer (or any) opera performances. 😅
Still, it’s daunting to step outside your comfort zone to challenge your perspective. As humans, we naturally gravitate toward comfort, routine, and certainty because these choices feel safe (think; anxiety) and reduce risk. On top of that, we may be held back because of norms and values, and because we’re afraid of what others may think of us. Psychologically, the ‘sure thing’ is appealing, which is why we often go for the same flavor ice cream. As Dan explains, we fear negative experiences more than we value potential gains (loss aversion). This fear keeps us from trying something new, and we stay within the biased boundaries of what we know.
While some people naturally embrace exploring the unknown with big leaps at a time, others may prefer taking baby steps. For instance, by moving to slightly different cities over time, you might eventually find yourself living in New York.
Now, I'd love to hear from you. What have you always wanted to try, but never did? Or…
How could a shift in your perspective encourage you to finally give it a try?