Perspective is a point of view: a way of looking at a particular set of events. We all have our own perspectives on the world and the life we are leading. What’s important to remember is that it is our perspective that determines our experience in life, not our circumstances.
Imagine you have been wearing glasses with yellow lens for two years. When you first put the glasses on you saw the world with a yellow tint. Overtime you forgot you were wearing glasses that were tinted and just thought the yellow world was normal. When you go to get new glasses the optometrist asks you if you still want a yellow tint. You opt for something different this time and decide not to have any tint. When you put your new glasses on the world has changed. The trees are a rich green, the sky is cobalt blue, and everything looks vibrant and alive. Your perspective has suddenly changed.
To demonstrate how different perspectives can shape our day, lets take a look at the two scenarios below.
Its 6am, the alarm goes off, the noise jolts me awake but I refuse to open my eyes. I don’t want to get up, it’s cosy and warm in bed and I really need more sleep. I look at my watch and see the time; my first conscious thought is…”who on earth set the alarm for this ungodly hour”. Then realization dawns, I did!! Today is the first day of my new healthy lifestyle. I have planned an early morning gym session followed by a nutritious fruit smoothie for breakfast. It seemed like a great plan last night! I start to think about how cold it will be when I take the covers off. I’m not sure where my gym clothes are, and I haven’t packed my bag with my clothes so I can shower at the gym and go straight to work. It all seems too hard. The gremlin on my shoulder is whispering in my ear…”go back to sleep, you deserve another half hour, you can start the gym tomorrow”. So I roll over snuggle up and tell myself that tomorrow I will start my new healthy lifestyle.
I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this scenario. So what if it happened like this instead.
Its 6am, the alarm goes off, the noise jolts me awake and I instantly open my eyes. I’m excited. Today is the first day of my new healthy lifestyle and I’m off to the gym for a training session. I spend a few minutes planning my program at the gym and thinking about what a great way this is to start the day. The cold air is invigorating as I throw back the covers and scramble out of my warm bed. My exercise clothes are ready for me to jump into, and my bag is packed so I can shower afterwards and head straight to work. As I head downstairs to my car, I see the first rays of sunlight starting to appear. It is quiet and peaceful, my favorite time of day and I’m thankful that I’m up to be experiencing it.
By changing the way we see or think about something, reframing our perspective, everything can look vastly different.
It is very easy to get stuck in a certain mind frame, and often we don’t even realize that’s what happening. However, there are always various ways to view a situation. Try today to change the color of your glasses and view the world a little differently. You might be surprised by the results.