The grass is greener...is it? - 1

One fact that cannot be countered is that there is always a very high probability that the grass on the other side is greener. It's all about people's perception and people's perception is their reality. 

I have learned from personal experience that 2 people (even identical twins) can look at the same thing and see different things. Let's test that quickly - feel free to check with a friend/colleague too:

As you can see, things are not always as they seem... I mean what you see is not necessarily what it is or even all there is to "see." The first picture is both a duck and a rabbit...and your initial answer depends on which one you saw first. The second one is easier - for anyone who knows something about elephants. We know that for a fact, elephants have 4 legs. However, imagine sharing this picture with someone who has never heard of or seen a picture of an elephant. The third picture is a tricky one because they are both right - based on their perspectives.

For me, these pictures highlight a different aspect of the "grass is greener" conversation.  

A lot of times people talk about going to places (new jobs or countries) where the "grass is greener." I have done both so I know quite a lot about the greenness of the grass - or otherwise. I have learned these 3 things:

Sometimes the "green" is not even real grass. However, we are so caught up in the fact that it looks like grass and is green, that we give our own interpretations to why the "grass is greener." It is important to be watchful, ask lots of questions and check the facts to understand the real attributes of that "green grass" because some companies and countries are so good at presenting things attractively. Remember the age-old adage "not all that glitters is gold"? I'm sure some of us ladies have learned that from experience of buying shiny, "gold-coloured"/ gold-plated jewelry.  For instance, you could be offered a role that is advertised as "having visibility to Senior management." 

The truth could be that the visibility could be just to do mundane, non-challenging tasks.  There's nothing necessarily wrong with that because I have learned to learn in every situation I find myself, however, it is helpful to know what you're walking into. As an example, someone wanted to take a job as say an "Assistant Manager." After several questions, the job was described to the individual it sounded more like they would be the "Assistant to the Manager" e.g. like an Executive Assistant not an Assistant Manager as advertised.

To be continued...