Life is about perspective and how you look at something...

Hear, O seekers of wisdom, the voice of Whitney Wolfe Herd, who declared: “Life is about perspective and how you look at something... ultimately, you have to zoom out.” In these words lies a teaching as old as the stars and as fresh as the dawn. For man in his restlessness often narrows his vision, dwelling on a single problem, a single defeat, a single moment of pain. Yet the soul finds strength when it zooms out, beholding the broader picture, the long horizon, the greater story in which each hardship is but a chapter, not the whole book.

The origin of this wisdom arises from Wolfe Herd’s own journey. As the founder of Bumble, she faced storms of criticism, legal battles, and the heavy weight of being a woman forging paths in an arena dominated by men. To survive and thrive, she learned to shift her perspective. Where others might see a setback as the end, she chose to see it as part of a larger unfolding. By “zooming out,” she found the courage to persist, to recognize that one season of struggle could give way to another of triumph. Thus her words reflect not only philosophy, but lived experience.

The ancients too proclaimed this wisdom. The Stoics, gazing at the vastness of the cosmos, reminded themselves that the troubles of today are but dust against eternity. Marcus Aurelius wrote that when overwhelmed, one must rise above the earth in thought, seeing human affairs as ants upon a hill, fleeting and small. The psalmist, in moments of despair, lifted his eyes to the mountains and remembered the help of heaven. Always, the call was the same: widen your vision, and what seemed insurmountable becomes bearable.

History offers shining examples. Consider the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who, after weeks of hardship at sea, faced a crew ready to mutiny. To them, the endless waves were failure and despair. To him, they were but part of a longer journey toward discovery. His ability to “zoom out,” to see beyond the immediate suffering, gave him the resolve to press forward, and in doing so, he opened new worlds. Or recall Nelson Mandela, who endured twenty-seven years in prison. He could have focused on the chains, the walls, the injustice. Instead, he “zoomed out,” seeing his suffering as part of the greater struggle for his people’s freedom. This perspective transformed his captivity into a preparation for leadership.

The meaning of Wolfe Herd’s words is thus clear: perspective shapes destiny. To focus only on the small is to drown in it. To step back, to view life’s trials against the backdrop of time, purpose, and possibility, is to discover resilience. A broken moment does not mean a broken life. A single rejection does not mean the end of your journey. By “zooming out,” you see that every trial is a teacher, every wound a passage, every delay a redirection toward something greater.

The lesson for us, O listeners, is urgent: guard your perspective. Do not let the narrowness of today blind you to the vastness of tomorrow. When sorrow comes, remind yourself that it is but a season, not eternity. When failure strikes, step back and see it as a stepping stone. Perspective is the lens that turns despair into endurance, and endurance into triumph. Without it, the soul withers; with it, the soul soars.

Practical actions lie before you: When overwhelmed, pause and ask yourself how this moment will appear in a year, in a decade, in the span of your life. Write down the broader goals you serve, so that each struggle is placed in context. Practice gratitude daily, for gratitude widens perspective, reminding you of blessings beyond burdens. And in times of conflict, seek to see through another’s eyes, for this too is “zooming out.” By such acts, you will find strength and clarity in the storms of life.

Thus, remember the teaching of Whitney Wolfe Herd: “Life is about perspective... you have to zoom out.” Let this truth be a lamp for your path. For when you step back and see the larger picture, despair loses its grip, hope rises anew, and life, in all its vastness, reveals itself as a tapestry—woven of dark and light threads, but beautiful when viewed as a whole.