Perspective Architecture: Designing a Bigger Reference Frame
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Mountains have never really been my happy place.
Give me an endless coastline, the sound of waves, or the horizon, and I instantly feel at home.
Until Sapa.
Walking across a glass bridge above the clouds and standing on Vietnam's highest peak, I experienced something I had never quite felt before.
My heart felt more open.
My mind felt quieter.
And suddenly, the problems I had been carrying no longer seemed as heavy.
The problems hadn't changed.
My reference frame had.
Problem: Our World Keeps Getting Smaller
Modern professional life constantly trains us to zoom in. My goals, my deadlines.
My meetings, my KPIs. My inbox, my problems... Over time, our reference frame shrinks.
When our world becomes smaller, everything inside it begins to feel larger. A delayed email feels urgent. A difficult conversation feels overwhelming. An uncertain future feels impossible. The problems don't necessarily become bigger.
Our reference frame becomes smaller.
Insight: Sometimes We Need a Bigger Perspective
This experience reminded me of psychologist Dacher Keltner's research on awe.
In his conversation with Oprah in ‘Discover Awe Daily with Oprah and Dacher Keltner’, he explains that awe is often triggered by experiences of vastness: mountains, oceans, remarkable people, music or powerful ideas that stretch the way we see the world.
Research suggests these moments temporarily quiet our constant self-focus, increase cognitive flexibility, strengthen our sense of connection and expand our tolerance for uncertainty.
Moments of 'Awe' changes the frame through which we interpret our circumstances.
Some experiences do give us new knowledge, some don't. Some do teach us new skills, some don't. Some don't even increase our energy.
They simply change the scale of our mind. And when that scale changes... the same meeting, the same uncertainty, the same worries about the future, no longer carry the same weight.
This is what I have started calling "Perspective Architecture", the intentional practice of designing experiences that expand our reference frame.
3 ideas you can try this week
💎 Spend time somewhere that reminds you there is a world bigger than your daily routine. In nature, in a concert or an art exhibition.
💎 When a problem feels overwhelming, ask yourself:
Has the problem grown, or has my reference frame become smaller?
💎 Intentionally schedule one perspective-expanding experience each month.
We design our goals. Why not also design the experiences that recalibrate how we see ourselves and the world?
"Perspective Architecture" has become one pillar of what I call "Human Performance Architecture", understanding how biology, behaviour, recovery, environment and perspective shape our ability to build meaningful careers and lives.
If you're navigating change, leading others, or simply want to perform from a bigger place, this is exactly the work I love exploring with my coaching clients!
Reach out to expand the reference frame through which you see the world.
Here is the easiest way to reach out to me:
Warmly from Hanoi,
Dilek
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