Volume XXIV, Number 13 (Issue 1164) March 30, 2026
Shifting the Perspective
Bear with me for a moment as I lead you through an exercise on perspective. If you will, take sixty seconds to follow these instructions. Take your right arm, index finger extended and raise it above your head toward the ceiling. Now, start rotating your arm in a clockwise circular motion. Twelve o’clock. Three o’clock. Six o’clock. Nine o’clock, repeat. Keep rotating your arm while slowly lowering your hand to chest height. What direction is your hand moving now?
If you followed my instructions, it will be rotating counterclockwise.
How did that happen? How did a hand that was moving in a clockwise direction reverse course? Was there a point at which you suddenly, unconsciously changed direction or is something else happening? Might the change in direction be the result of a change in perspective?
The reality is things look differently when we change our vantage point. Thus, what you see when you are at the beginning of your career can (and often does) look radically different to someone who has ascended that proverbial corporate ladder. One view is not necessarily better or more accurate than the other. As this illustration demonstrates, both interpretations, while they differ by 180°, are correct.
If you have heard me speak at a conference or one of the many banking programs where I serve as a lecturer, you may have taken part in the above illustration of perspective in a group setting. It is fascinating to lead a group through this exercise, watching the puzzled expressions on people’s faces when they look upon that lowered hand as it draws a circle in the air.
As I was searching for a topic for today’s essay I began with the George Bernard Shaw quote, “youth is wasted on the young.” As someone who is much closer to the end rather than the beginning of their career, I can attest to the validity of Shaw’s observation. There is that period when we are young and foolish with much to learn, blessed with an abundance of energy and desire to advance in our career while also living life to the fullest. If we are lucky, there comes a time when we are older, a bit wiser, but feeling less vibrant as we consider a runway that seems far too short.
It was from that line of reasoning that my thoughts ran to one of my all-time favorite Jethro Tull songs which appeared on their 1969 album, “Stand Up.” Classic rockers and fans of classic rock may be familiar with that album and the song, “We Used to Know.” Written by Ian Anderson, the song is meant as a reflection on one’s life from the vantage point of old age. Harkening back to the lean times of one’s youth compared to what life is typically like when we approach the other end, we can easily consider the changes that have occurred including the many lessons learned.
In particular, there is a line in the song that states, “slowly upstairs, faster down.” That phrase has taken on special significance for me as my years seem to fly by. How sure I was when, as a near penniless teenager, I found myself singing along in the marijuana filled air of the Sam Houston Coliseum as Anderson and his bandmates played that and a selection of twenty other familiar pieces. Oh, the many things I see so differently now that my perspective has shifted.
Soli Deo Gloria
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210) 260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
Transforming Potential into Unmatched Performance
Copyright 2026 by J. Keith Hughey. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for reproduction and redistribution of this essay as provided under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Recent issues of Musings may be found at www.jkeithhughey.com. Your comments are both welcomed and encouraged.