2. Perspective, Perception/ point of view, the ability to see both the forest and the trees.

The most important consideration when observing or thinking about anything is the perspective of the observer or thinker. Here is why:

The perspective (or point of view) of an individual determines what that individual sees.

This is as true on the basic fundamental level of actually seeing something as it is on the higher abstract plane of pure thought.

Allow me to illustrate:

If I stand in the corner of a classroom that is filled with students sitting on tablet armchairs and place my cheek to the wall (either one), the view I will have is of a room filled with students sitting in chairs.

However, if I stand in the doorway of the classroom, with my nose to the doorframe, one eye will be in the hall and the other will be looking at the chalkboard. The vision I then receive is of a hall, a classroom, and a chalkboard (and, perhaps, some students).

Lastly, if I stand in the front of the classroom and lay my head upon the floor and look at the students, I will (besides being accused of all sorts of unusual behavior) receive yet another view of the class, this time emphasizing their shoes, pants, stockings and the floor.

The point is, depending on how I look at things, I will see different things.

Similarly, how I think about any person, situation or thing will determine what I will think about that person, situation or thing.

This is the concept of perspective: the fact that how we think about something shapes the way we think.

And our perspective is shaped by our orientation: the way we look at things, whom or what we deem (consider) to be important, who or what comes first (priorities),

For example, if we consider someone to be a friend, we will likely think good of him or her. If we dislike someone, we are likely to think ill (bad) of him or her

Similarly, if you are a college student, it is likely you want college tuition costs to be lower and taxes to be higher. However, if you are a taxpayer, it is likely you want at least public college tuition costs to be higher and your taxes to be lower.

Key vantage point: one way in which all people have experienced the effect of perspectival thinking is when we look back on things that have occurred. This is what we call hindsight: the ability to look back over events and determine why the events that occurred happened the way they did and whether we could have done anything differently.

As the German philosopher Hegel said, "The owl of Minerva flies at night!" (or hindsight is a wonderful thing).

Key skill: The ability to see both the forest and the trees.

Literally, if you are caring for a forest and only pay attention to the individual trees, then you might not be aware that the facts indicate that the whole forest might be in danger (shrinking, for example, because trees are cut down for houses).

Often, we are confronted with situations where our vision is limited to the things right in front of us (for example, big trees) and we cannot see the 'big picture' (that we are in a forest, that it might be in danger, etc.).

It is useful to know that sometimes we are not readily aware of the forest of issues (numerous issues) surrounding the specific individual problem we are confronted with or are trying to solve.

So, sometimes, when you are trying to solve a problem, it is useful to think about the other people, issues, relationships, things, that are affected or might be involved in the solution.

In fact, often, a solution that has not yet been considered will become obvious, simply because you are changing your perspective (and seeking to see both the forest and the trees).

This is the power of perspectival thinking: the thinker is not trapped by circumstances, but can consider reality from different points of view in addition to his or her own.