How I See You And How You See Me

One of the things I have learned about myself working with the Core Values Index psychometric assessment is that I see the world through my own psychological lens. This shapes my values and perceptions, and perhaps most importantly, it shapes the way I see other people and their behavior.

Everyone sees the world through their own psychological lens.

Each of us has an unconscious expectation that everyone we meet will see the world the same way we do.

This has been a profound lesson for me. In the past, I would sometimes become frustrated that a co-worker or client just couldn't see a situation the same way I did. They would value a different outcome or discount something that I thought was very important.

My mistake was that I was expecting them to see the situation the same way I did.

Through study of my own psychometric profile, I have gained knowledge and understanding not only of how I see the world and how I expect it to function, but I have changed my expectation that others see it the same as I do.

Some might.

People who have the same psychometric profile as me will likely share a lot of the same perceptions and expectations. Those who don't aren't wrong or incorrect, however. They don't have wrong or bad values. They simply see things through their own psychometric lens.

I have since not only learned to acknowledge that others have a different lens through which they see the world, but I have developed an appreciation for those differences. Perhaps others can see the entire forest while I'm focusing on a single tree, or vice versa. They might come up with an entirely new and valuable approach to a challenging situation, or they might value a different outcome.

I have learned that we are all unique yet we share commonalities. Both of these — our individuality and our commonality — are to be honored, respected, and valued.

Learning that I see the world through my own lens, and that everyone I meet sees the world through their lens, has been an invaluable gift for which I am very thankful.