What is the essence of life?
Which element do you focus on most? What do you consider most important?
Some might say the people matter most. That regardless the environment, the opportunity for human interaction is invigorating.
Some might say status matters most. That the opportunity to earn respect on the basis of prestige is what they live for.
And some might say the setting matters most. That our placement in relation to the rhythms of our surroundings sustains us.
People. Status. Setting.
All three are critical in establishing a rich and fulfilling life. But assigning priority to one over the others is like trying to find the right answer to a Rorschach test.
It all depends on your perspective.
The people perspective is the most refined. It focuses on the company we keep. What people have to say and share with each other matters more than who they are or where the interaction occurs.
As social beings, we are most naturally drawn to this dynamic. We crave social interaction. We demand trust. And sometimes, we even value intentions over actions.
Connection is at our essence. It’s why we’re so fascinated with interesting personalities. It’s why cocktail hour is such a time-honored event. And it’s why we insist on documenting every social gathering these days with a group picture on social media.
Yet, not all of us embrace human interaction equally. Those who are more reserved or less comfortable in social settings are inclined to take a wider view.
This starts with the status perspective. This level focuses on our achievements relative to others. Where we have access to that others don’t. What we achieve that others can’t.
This is the impetus for first class seating on airplanes. For gated communities of mega-mansions. For Platinum credit cards.
This all might sound a bit snobby and elitist. But in practice, many of us consider this aspect of life to be mission critical.
If you don’t believe me, consider the last time you avoided someone with different political views. Or recall that last time you spent time on the other side of the tracks. There’s a good chance this encounter wasn’t recent.
Yes, status is our middle ground. Our opportunity to soak up social interaction on our terms. To build a culture of association, and to assimilate ourselves to it.
But this coziness comes at a cost. Status is context-specific, and cultural divides can lead to closed-mindedness. Our perspective is limited by our blind devotion to measuring sticks and self-defined boundaries.
The challenge, then, is to take our perspective one level further, to the perspective of setting.
This is the Bird’s Eye View — but with a twist.
It’s where we take a 360-degree view of our surroundings, and consider how we interact with them.
When we focus on the setting, we observe the weather, the lighting, the peripheral sights and ambient sounds we encounter. We value these details as much as the interactions that take place within them.
It’s hard to operate at this level. It’s not easy to pay such close attention to detail, but also be aware of the big picture. It’s challenging to have enough humility to realize we’re part of a bigger narrative, and that we should give that narrative its due.
This is why the perspective of setting is so often reserved for those who choose to remove themselves from the din of social connection. It’s why it’s so often tied to intellectuals, introverts and authors.
These groups are predisposed to taking the wider view. But by no means do they have a stranglehold on it.
There’s much that can be learned by taking this scope of perspective.
It can make us more well-rounded. It can make us more situationally aware. And it can make us more conscientious.
These benefits are worth the work needed to adapt our mindset toward them.
So, while there’s no clear choice as to which element of life has the highest priority, there is a clear directive.
Broaden your scope of perspective. Reap the results.