In Episode Eleven, I talk about the most fantastic perspective that you can get when astronauts fly to outer space and look back at our Earth as a tiny, fragile ball of light hanging in a black void. They experience what’s called the overview effect. As Michael Collins from space mission, Apollo 11, wrote, “The thing that really surprised me was that the Earth projected an air of fragility, and why? I don’t know why. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny. It’s shiny. It’s beautiful. It’s home. And it’s fragile.” The actor William Shatner, went to space as a tourist and said, “Everyone in the world needs to do this. Everyone in the world needs to see. It was unbelievable.”

So, after that wonderful experience, what was the point? Well, thanks to Dr. Wikipedia, the overview effect is essentially defined as a cognitive shift in awareness. The reality of seeing Earth in space is immediately understood. It may also invoke a sense of transcendence and connection with humanity, from which national borders appear petty. So, what do you do? Somebody went up in outer space, saw the earth and came back with this new perspective. The point is perspective matters. Having new perspective gives you the strength to deal with problems because they appear smaller than they used to. If you want to find a way to start changing the trajectory of your life for the better, get a bigger perspective. Start thinking weeks, months, years in advance, start trying to take steps back to see it not only from your perspective, but from other perspectives. Maybe go so far as to buy a ticket to outer space and see it from a global perspective.

There are zero other life sustaining planets in our solar system, in our galaxy, or in the universe, at least as far as we know right now. Expand your perspective. It will help you address the problems in your life. Thank you for reading the blog for episode eleven. Check us out on YouTube. We will see you in the next episode!