Why seeing the ‘Big Picture’ doesn’t always give us the best view.
Forget the big picture for a while. It’s the little pictures that show us the things that matter most. Things we can actually embrace and hold on to for now.
A lesson from the most optimistic guy in America…
Everyone knows it’s important to be able to see the big picture. Would you even try to argue that point? It won’t get you ahead in the corporate world if you’re not a big picture seer, that’s pretty much a given.
WARNING: I’m going to use some full-bore optimism in this post… read ahead at your own risk. If you prefer keeping company with your inner curmudgeon, this won’t be the place.
Michael J. Fox knows a thing or two about setbacks. The biggest one being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 29. Most of us would have thrown in the towel right then.
One of his central beliefs is this…
No matter the circumstances, optimism is possible.”
—Michael J. Fox, actor
The Parkinson’s thing wasn’t his only misfortune and if you learn more about him, you’ll find he hasn’t always been able to instantly call on what seems like eternal optimism from the outside looking in.
See, I even called him the most optimistic guy in America.
In the interview, Michael talks about gratitude and acceptance. And maybe we feel at times that we’ve had the gratitude mantra pushed at us too much and too often. Be grateful or else!
C’mon, you’ll find plenty of gratitude in most anyone’s Facebook feed scattered right there among the hate and vitriol. Strange company, for sure. The thing about gratitude is this—it works. But please don’t worry… I’m not headed there right now.
Remember up top where I mentioned the big picture? That’s where I’m going…
Being able to see the big picture has value, of course.
And there’s a flipside that I’m not sure has been mentioned before. In the interview, Michael acknowledges the importance of the big picture. However, he points out that it’s also important “to see the little pictures that make up the big picture.”
That’s an interesting extension of the original metaphor. Think about it, if you’re not seeing all that goes into something, you’re missing much of the detail that really matters.
There are all these moments, and when they happen, you have to go, ‘Oh, I don’t want to let that go by. I want to look at that and stay there for a while.’”
—MJF
I’m with Michael, take a closer look at the pieces that matter.
Take our near-universal point of reference—The Year 2020. What does that look like? What words come to mind. I’m guessing we’re both thinking most of the same ones…
Chaos. Check. Fear. Check. Division. Check. On and on it goes as we paint the big picture. Doesn’t look so good, does it?
What if we dial things in a bit? Narrow our focus so we can see the pieces. The tough ones become easier to deal with. And hey, we’re able to begin to see the good parts again. We may be surprised to see how many good parts there actually are.
- If we chunk them down, fearful parts become more manageable.
- Much of what we thought was there turns out to be just that—a thought.
- Seeing how a little picture fits into the whole makes the bigger picture sharper.
The real insight is in all the little pictures. The big picture may seem like a better view, but is it really? What can you begin to see more clearly when you’re up close?
Maybe we should forget the big picture for now. It’s the little pictures that show us the things that matter most. Things we can actually embrace and hold on to for a while.
Be untucked.
—This post was inspired by Michael J. Fox and his interview with Liz Brody in the December 2020 issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
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Copyright © 2020 Jeff Meister
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