Adopting a different perspective can also be helpful in overcoming the obstacles that will inevitably present themselves en route to achieving your goals. You must be able to step back and come at the perceived problem from away. This allows you to see potential solutions that you would most likely not have seen otherwise. Imagine a typical beach ball. If you and a group of people are sitting in a circle with the beach ball in the middle, when looking at it from anyone’s position, each person can see only three of the coloured sections on the ball at any one time, no matter where each person is sitting. However, if you come from away and switch seats with someone else to see the ball from another perspective, you will be able to see three different coloured sections of the ball.

Imagine if the solution to your problem was written on one of the sections that you couldn’t see from your original vantage point! You may have even been close to the solution—only one section away—but without a slight shift in perspective, you would not have been able to see it. This goes to show that being able to step back and see problems or setbacks from a different point of view — to come from away — is often crucially important to overcoming obstacles, achieving your goals, and, ultimately, reaching your highest level of success.