CRACK.
The player nailed the ball with the bat, sending it hurtling toward outer space. I knew it would be a home run from the sound of the hit and trajectory of the ball. I saw it all from my seat behind first base.
But wait, the center fielder is running toward second base. What’s going on?!? He’s running the wrong way! He also happened to make an easy catch a few dozen yards from second base. My perspective on the trajectory was wrong, and my celebration was premature.
For the future, I could choose a new seat….to gain a new vantage point to watch the game. Or I could adjust my response to accommodate the the inherit failure of my perspective.
So what did I do? I sat there because that was where my tickets were, and I continued to misjudge fly balls. This was only a baseball game, so who cares that much about a few fly balls, but I wonder how often we callously stay in the same position, subjecting ourselves to failed perspectives because we are unable or unwilling to change. In terms of the whole of life, it seems like a waste to continually place yourself in a place destined for failure.
But what happens when you are completely unable to change your perspective? What do you to cope?