Perspective is all about the way we look at life. If you're not happy with your life, maybe you just need to change the way you see it.
I'm going to illustrate this with a little exercise. Look at the picture below. Do you see the white vase? Now look again. Do you see the black silhouettes of the two people?
Next picture: Do you see both an old and young woman? (Hint: the old woman's nose is the young woman's chin.)
Now check out this picture. It defies gravity in a way that no architecture ever could. The question is, which staircase is the one facing upright?
You get the idea. Our outlook on life changes everything. So how do we change our outlook? While it's not always easy, the best solution is to take it one day at a time. Focus on the positive. You missed the bus to campus? Well now you have the opportunity to get some exercise running there instead. While it isn't always easy to focus on the positive, it is one of the key steps to maintaining the level of happiness you desire.
Another way to change your perspective is about other people. Oftentimes we assume the worst about others when we should be assuming the best. Here is a story that is both entertaining and applicable when it comes to changing your perspective:
A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop. She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”
With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!
She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.
She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.
If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
By Valerie Cox in “A Matter of Perspective”
Submitted by Tom “The Colonel” Parker
So if you're seeking happiness and aren't sure where to look, maybe turn your pointed finger back to yourself and decide what YOU can do to improve the situation.
The best way to change your life is changing the way you see it!
-Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment