SEEING > WATCHING
Being seen is very different to being watched.
But you probably don't know just how much it matters or how such a simple thing can affect your outlook and perspective on life, others, and yourself.
They are two approaches to others that on a surface level sound the same, but are fundamentally different.
Remember the first leader who saw who you could be, rather than you you already were? They saw you.
Seeing is a decision and determination to look with open eyes at who a person has been, is now, and could be. It leaks possibility and presumes potential. This way of seeing takes a mindset of possibility and generates excitement. Seeing builds positive expectation and fosters a love of spontaneity and being pleasantly surprised.
Contrast that with a leader who watches. Maybe you’ve had one maybe you haven’t. This leader is the one who has already decided who you are and is waiting for your actions to confirm what they already presume. They are the person trying to catch you out in order to justify what they have already decided to be true.
Watching infers that a judgement has already been made about who you may be. No amount of proof otherwise will change their mind. You are who you are.
Now think back to which leader believed in you more, championed you more, and saw your potential as something that could be developed, not an indictment of where you were not. I’ll hazard a guess that it was the leader who saw you not the leader who watched you.
Once you’ve considered and decided which leader positively impacted you more - you have a great barometer for how you approach your relationships with others.
Today’s encouragement - go and go be that person. As you carry on about your day, endeavour to see more than you watch. Let life surprise you, and let others growth push your own.
... How about you? What does your natural perspective lean towards? And how can you develop a pattern of seeing more than you watch?
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Thanks so much for reading - G //