1/26/2026

“Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change” — Wayne Dyer

Have you ever felt stuck? When I am in a rut, I am challenged to think of new ways of seeing things, because, well, my brain does not let me. It is not always the exterior way of physically seeing things that need changing.

There is a value at looking at things differently, commented Graham Edwards, a sales and marketing professional. Edwards also points out that it is important to know yourself, your habits, your preconceptions, and your methods for how you currently look at things.

Part of thinking differently is learning to see differently, wrote Adam Brandenburger. Do you remember Apple’s 1997 advertisement “Think Different?” Brandenburger wrote that many great creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs look at the world differently than us. This is why they see opportunities that many of us often miss.

Sherlock Holmes is credited with saying to Watson,  “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.”

Maria Konnikova, psychologist and author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, offers a couple of tips:

1. To observe effectively, learn to separate the situation from the interpretation, yourself from what you are seeing.
2. Describe the situation of interest aloud or in writing to a companion. Sherlock often used Watson in this manner as key points in a case would become evident.

According to Brandenburger, our brains are designed to stop us paying too much attention. Neurons stop firing once they get sufficient information about an unchanging stimulus. If we are presented with a steady image in our peripheral vision, we stop seeing it after a while. This neurological phenomenon is known as “habituation.” It points to ways that our brains operate in a more efficient manner.

We can train our brains to look at things differently, see differently, and then, think differently. We need to be aware of biases that we might hold.

According to Scott Miker, our biases color everything from our individual perspective. Once we are aware of the filters and biases, then we can challenge our biases.  Adding, we can encounter them in a new manner. We can become less judgmental.

In the words of Lucy Lopez, how we look at anything changes what we see. Lopez uses the word “look” to mean not just seeing with your physical eyes or all your physical senses, but also to thinking and especially to feeling. If you want to change your experience, you must change how you think about it.

Changing the way you see things can give you a way to bust through self-held biases. As Albert Einstein once said, “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

When may you need a new perspective, when you are:

• Stuck in negativity. You are stuck focusing on obstacles in front of you. You just may need a shift.
• Feeling limited. Some of our beliefs and assumptions can create mental blocks.
• Experiencing stress. A new view could help reframe a situation, start reducing stain and stress.
• Seeing the world darkly. Change of focus from past hurts to focusing on the good in the moment.

How can we change the way we look at things? From my research on changing how we see things, I came across the following:

• Challenge your assumptions.
• Practice gratitude
• Use a different lens or filter to look at things. Check out www.asaecenter.org.
• Embrace the unknown. It is okay to admit “we don’t know.” Move from uncertainty to curiosity.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” — George Bernard Shaw

Resources:

Image by 8photo on Freepik retrieved on 1/22/2026 from <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-lady-checked-shirt-showing-glasses-gesture-looking-amazed-front-view_13668009.htm”&gt; </a>

Brandenburger, Adam. “To Change the Way You Think, Change the Way You See.” 4/16/2019. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved on 1/19/2026 from https://hbr.org/2019/04/to-change-the-way-you-think-change-the-way-you-see

Edwards, Graham. “A New Way to Look at Things.” 2/21/2019. Retrieved on 1/19/2026 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-way-looking-things-graham-edwards-/

Lopez, Lucy. “There’s always another way of looking at something.” Retrieved on 1/19/2026 from https://www.getenlightenedtoday.com/theres-always-another-way-of-looking-at-something/

Miker, Scott. “Change the Way You Look at Things.” Retrieved on 1/19/2026 from  https://www.scottmiker.com/change-the-way-you-look-at-things

Westfall, Chris. “Adjust Your Perspective-Looking at things a different way.” Video. 7/12/2018. Retrieved on 1/19/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CePIq_LfgEE