Switching to Manual Focus

Many times, people mistake rational and reasoning for guidance. I sometimes may carry a 22LR revolver for defensive purposes. I do this because it fits the needs of a specific situation – it is not me telling you that you need to carry a 22LR revolver for defensive purposes. A missing variable to this equation is what is the value of experience and knowledge from the source itself, and what are their considerations? Could someone with far better perspective, experience, skill, and knowledge be providing the secrets of the universe that I could incorporate into my life if I consider the information instead of wanting to immediately counter it? Absolutely!

There is a lens everyone applies to all forms of input they encounter – what they read, hear, and see. This lens can have automatic or manual focus and zoom. This lens is made up of one’s paradigm, knowledge, experience, and bias. When new information is being processed, it goes through a series of checks through that lens. One critical consideration is the question- “How does this apply to me, or does this even apply to me?”

Many times, less experienced or less knowledgeable people encounter a bit of information that doesn’t fit their paradigm. The response is to fight the information instead of absorbing, assimilating, and ingesting it. The minute I realized this behavior in myself and learned to listen and not immediately respond is when I started to really grow beyond the confining accepted norms. 22LR, revolvers, and shotguns for defense? No issue. Someone carries something that doesn’t fit my needs? No problem – it doesn’t affect me. Instead of shooting concepts down- asking questions to further understand perspective and reasoning helps me process the bigger picture versus passing judgment on a sliver of information. I tell people often- the “what” isn’t as important as the “why.”” Google can tell me what – only you can tell me why. Sometimes, to get that why, I just need to ask. This is a huge departure from my mindset from several years ago, and I am very happy with the change.