Inside our heads, we have a unique brain wired to our personality. We have a set of beliefs, values, and customs that will be tailored to our development. In short, that means that how you see a situation will have a high probability of being viewed differently in someone else’s eyes. However, just because you see something one way doesn’t mean someone else has to view it in the same light. This can have a mixed result because, in one sense, we want to see things for the positive and remain optimistic, but on the other hand, we might see the negative and want to fight back. Regardless of how you view what is happening, we will be breaking down the idea of how you might look at a situation.
They say that beauty is within the eyes of the beholder. That has got me thinking about what else is in the beholder’s mind. It is not just beauty or superficial things when I look deep into it. It is a make-up of our conscious/subconscious thoughts that define what we are looking at. For example, love for me may look different in someone else’s eyes. That does not mean that love doesn’t exist in my world because they cannot see it the way I do. It means that my eyes are primed to see things in a particular light. Our brain will get used to things and take things for granted, which affects us if we see something regular or beautiful.
The other weekend I was at a rooftop bar in Austin, Texas. I was there just to socialize and not drink, so I remember the whole evening. During my time on the roof, I had people telling the staff how lucky they were to work every day with such a great view of the city of Austin. Though the view was amazing, the staff did not see it as something beautiful and did not pay much attention during their shift. They had customers and work-related tasks to the point they could not enjoy the beauty around them. However, instead of focusing on the good things, they were more concerned about going home and relaxing.
Though there are many good things about working at the rooftop bar, there were also some cons. The cons of working on a rooftop bar were that they had to be in the sun all day. That includes when it was humid outside. They could close up shop if it were downpour rain, but here in Texas, that is few and far between. As you can see, we can focus on the good or the bad in any situation. Though I am sure that they loved the view at first, things started to lose their shine after some time working at that location.
I have spoken about the shine effect before in several of my blogs. In short, the shine effect is the idea that new things appear and feel great at first. However, when that shine wears off, what was once pristine is now old. In short, what happens is that we get used to the things we have because we see other things we do not have. This is materialism without the material, but the idea of losing sight of the natural beauty around you is not so much we get used to it, but rather we fail to see the beauty around us. This happens because the brain is overloaded with sensory input and personal stimuli that we cannot focus on any noncrucial factor.
Another event took place on the rooftop, where I saw a couple taking pictures of their food after they said they were starving. They spent about 10 minutes getting the perfect picture and posting it on social media before taking their first bite. They then did not talk to each other for about 15 minutes while they were on their phone, replying to comments. Of course, they took some pictures of the great view, but they spent the majority of time looking at the lens of their phone than their own eyes. This is another form of seeing beauty through your own eyes. I used to do this until I realized what I was doing.
When we have our phones and try to make the perfect video or picture, we have to look at the screen. If you are not looking at the screen, there is a high probability that the picture will not come outright. However, while you are trying to capture the moment with your device, you are missing the true moment in your eyes. I find myself nowadays when I am taking a picture or video on my phone of something I admire; I will look at what I’m taking a picture of before I take the photo. Most people get the image and then enjoy the moment. However, there is no correct order when taking a shot if you are a smartphone photographer.
I have noticed that I appreciate the moment more when I pay attention to the moment before I try to get the perfect picture. There are two reasons behind this. The first is that I can learn to appreciate what is in front of me immediately rather than postponing a picture that will just be another image on my thousands of other images on my phone. Though technology has made significant advances in terms of the quality of cameras, it is not the same as looking through your own eyes. The second thing you learn is that though the picture can speak thousands of words, it is not as meaningful as taking time out to be present in the moment.
The idea of living in the moment sparked my whole mindset journey. I was living life for whatever came my way, and I was moving fast. I realized that this fast pace of living was not how I wanted to live the rest of my life. I tried to slow time down and feel the moment for its entirety. That meant that I had to develop new ways of thinking and to view the world. One of the first things I did was get eye surgery. After eye surgery and I was all healed, I was able to see in HD (High-definition). I never knew I could have eyesight this good because contacts and glasses didn’t even match up to where my eyes were.
I started to pay more attention to my hikes and would look at everything nature had to offer in a new light. I began to see beauty better than any screen could ever show me through my eyes. To this day, I make sure that I am paying attention to the world around me for what it is. There is always something going on. I have to make sure just because I have experience with this one beautiful aspect of life doesn’t mean when I see another part of life that I find attractive or enticing, I should go out and forget what I have. Though the shine wheres off eventually, it doesn’t have to wear off at the pace our current society allows.
How you see the world or the beauty around you will be dependent on your mindset overall. If you have a perspective that can get away from looking through a screen or always moving to the next trend or popular appeal, you are on the way to a stronger mindset. I tell people trying to get out of their old habits to leave their smartphones at home and go for a walk. Hopefully, you don’t get lost, but the main thing is to find something that grabs your attention as much as your phone does. Many people cannot be separated from their pieces of technology, and it is beginning to ruin the power of the moment.
Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the person has to be able to acknowledge and see the beauty. We live in a fast-paced world where we will take a picture of something and get to it when we procrastinate and are looking for something else to do. I think it is good to take photos and videos because they help spark your long-term memories that have been forgotten. There is much to be learned by taking the time out and figuring out what things matter to you the most. Then the next step is to make sure you pay attention to those things or moments as often as you can.
Just because you see something in one light doesn’t mean others will see it the same. I know that what I see may be beautiful, but others might see it and forget about it at the same minute. That is because the brain is in a constant state of overload. There is only so much sensory input we can take in before our brain begins to shy away from any more input. I find that though we limit the things we can see in a day and make them mean something, there is always the opportunity to seek new moments when one moment ends. Many people get caught in one moment and move on to the next, and they forget everything that happened in between.
Just like that couple taking photos of their food, they chose to capture the food instead of savoring the taste. The food was eaten in a shorter time than they designated for their photoshoot the food. In that sense, we can say that the photos last longer than the food, but we would have to go deeper to see if they were living in the moment of rushing to the next part of life. Many people will scarf down their food and not take the time to chew and taste every bite. I myself sometimes fail to take time out when I eat to appreciate the food and all its flavor, but it is not a constant state. I try to see and feel the good in my life because it keeps my mind positive and aims in the right direction when I do that.
If you have your head down looking at your smartphone, you will fail to see the beauty of what the world has to offer around you. We may also lose focus on the amazing things around us if we are preoccupied with other things. Though those distractions are inevitable, we do not have to remain distracted throughout our day. We can train our minds to see the small things that surmount the big things in life. If you find yourself one of those who fail to see the positive or what the world has to offer, you will benefit from some mindset coaching. You should be able to see a situation for what it is rather than what it once was in your eyes. What you choose to see in any given moment is a power you must develop.
Until then,
Michael Rearden
Founder of Reven Concepts