Improve Your Perspective:
I am blessed to be a generally all around positive personality. Most of the time. However, there are days, people, events and seasons, when even the smallest of problems weigh me down into a brief moment of desperation. Without even thinking about it, there are some things I do to revamp my thinking, handle the issue and move back into positive territory.
- Step Away – Either in my mind, or by physical distance, I step away from the situation. Distance, in my mind, equals space between me and the moment. Guarded space where I regain control of my thoughts about the moment. It’s a great time of evaluation.
- ReThink – Analyze the problem, recognize what’s creating the momentary stress, and then recenter, refocus, and regain perspective.
- Change – Modify what allowed the moment to go negative. This may be changing positions in regards to a person, even removing the obstacle, even if you must do it by force.
- ReStart – Start from a safe place and ensure safeguards are in place to prevent a future negative moment.
Now. I wrote those few sentences in about 2 minutes without evening thinking about it. How? Because this is what I’ve done for a long time and I don’t even think about it. Sometimes it is a fast process, and in the matter of minutes these steps are completed. Other times, well, let’s just say there are still some things I’m dealing with even a week or two out from their event!
My perspective is that you don’t give up just because it’s difficult!
And then, this morning. Listening to a podcast about the struggles some go through and never seem to recover their center so that life goes on. Some see the negative in everything, others see the positive. Somewhere between the two worlds is where I stand. I may see the positive, but I want to know what makes it that way. I may see the negative, but I’m not happy leaving it that way – I want to improve it to a better light.
One of the important things for me? Put it in perspective of life in general, or some previous battle I’ve faced. The future is better addressed by the battles you’ve overcome in your past. As I heard last night, and this morning, you go through things to help you handle the future better prepared than you ever were in your past!
Sometimes, yes, there are times you need to change your perspective from where you were headed to a new direction where the results are more in tune with who you are, and what you hope to accomplish!
How about you? Are you always negative about your situation, or politics, or events happening around the globe? What do you do to modify your perspective, or, better still, how do you handle yourself in the midst of a negative place? What do you do to regain focus?
Here’s My Thought: We all have coping mechanisms that we use to deal with life. Maybe it’s a wise thing to take a few minutes and jot them down, and file them away in your memory bank for quicker access when the next issue pops us! Be ready to tweak this list so that it gets better with time!