A reminder to constantly challenge my perspective

Watch the video below and take a pause.

It appeared in our national news as well.

What did you observe? What did you conclude?

Many of us, including myself, will think that the woman in red is probably out of her mind to pry open the train door. She was risking herself to get into the train. There was a moment when she got caught in between the train door and the station door, which can pose a life-threatening situation to her if the train advanced. And she was very persistent to enter. Many netizens lashed out at her kan-cheong* behaviour.

But we humans have a high tendency to judge based on a single #perspective, and in this case, we concluded the woman personality based on what we saw on the CCTV footage.

It turned out that the woman in red was chasing after her autistic sister of the woman. Play the video again. There was a woman in white entering the train before her. And, knowing that her sister is autistic, she is afraid to lose her. She risked her life not because she was in a rush but to reconnect with her sister.

While the source may not be reliable, my point is, in life, you need to continually challenge the only perspective that you have on any matter. It can be your relationship, a particular action someone does, or a specific situation you are in. This technique is also known as reframing.

Do you feel that your neighbour is rude because he is always talking loudly, or does he has a hearing problem that causes him to speak like that? Are you annoyed that your partner is replying you late, or is he busy with his work?

What are some beliefs, views or perspectives that you are holding on firmly today that cause your displeasure? Revisit them, reframe and see how it helps you. I believe that it will liberate your resentment by looking at things differently.

*Kan-cheong is a Singlish used to describe anxious or hasty.