“We can complain
because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” Abraham Lincoln
I’d like to post one more blog on the topic of perspective because I
am having so much fun doing it!! As
perspective has been on my mind, it is interesting to me to notice how many
people who are in similar situations react so differently, and therefore have
such a different experience in life. One
simple example happened at work the other day.
An announcement was made at work that would impact me and my
colleagues. One partner of mine that I
spoke with complained and complained about the announcement until she had come
to the conclusion that the company was destined for doom while another partner
of mine, though a little apprehensive, expressed her excitement at being able
to do things differently and felt this announcement in particular would help
the company grow and prosper. Both
received the same news, yet their reactions and experience could not have been
more different. Much like this simple
example illustrates, at the end of the day our experience in life, whether
positive or negative, is because of our perspective. If we stop to take a look as I have lately,
we can find examples all around us to prove this.
So after reading my posts one of my friends asked me, “Is it really
possible to take the right perspective with what is going on now days?” Unfortunately,
our environment can influence our perspective and most often in our society
today, the things that surround us taint our perspective and move it in the
wrong direction. However, despite the
many negative influences that surround us, there are plenty of people who have
a positive perspective on life and therefore have found a way to overcome. So if others can do it, we can do it! We cannot allow our society, the media, or
any other outside influence to control our perspective.
If there is one thing I’ve learned, our circumstances do not define
our happiness and success in life. So in
answer to my friends question and to sum up my last three blogs on this topic,
we can have self-control and self-mastery over our perspective. Again this has been proven to me time and
time again when people experience similar situations and events and have such
different outcomes as a result of them. If
we can find a way to view situations for what they are and take the right
perspective, we will lead a successful and happy life. Yes, our life is all about the perspective we
choose, thus we must choose wisely.
If you haven’t had the chance to do so, I’d encourage you to read my
two previous blogs (part 1 and part 2).
“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you
have; it depends solely on what you think.”
Dale Carnegie
Life is all about perspective because the perspective we take
determines our success and happiness in life.
Two people can have nearly identical experiences but can have very
different reactions or outlooks on the experience. And their contrasting outlooks are based on
how they perceive the experience. If we
choose wisely and take the right perspective in life, we will always
succeed.
A few people have commented on my blog last week about perspective so
I decided to write a follow-up blog on the topic today.
As chance would have it, while driving in my car on my way home from
work a few days ago, I heard an interesting story on the radio that illustrates
the power of perspective perfectly. This
story was told by a nurse who worked many years in an intensive care unit at a
busy hospital. She recounted a story of a very sick man who needed a heart
transplant. His situation was dire and
he didn’t have long to live without a compatible donor. The nursing team fretted over him and
wondered if he would live another day but just in time, a suitable transplant
became available. The nurse recalled the
man’s surgery was a success however a short while after, the man’s health began
to deteriorate again because his body was rejecting the “new” heart. The poor man was soon placed on life support again
and his only hope of survival was to find another suitable heart donor quickly. A few days passed and despite the doctor’s
prognosis, he miraculously continued to live.
Finally, against all odds, a suitable new heart became available and a
successful surgery was performed. This
time his body accepted the new organ and he began to recuperate rapidly. Before long the man was able to eat again and
the medical team began to believe that he would even be able to return home in time. The nurse stated that this man’s success
story was what her nursing team lived for and they were thrilled that a person
who had been given so little hope to survive was now doing so well! One day, as this nurse was walking by his
room, she noticed the man was extremely angry and upset. The nurse quickly entered the room and saw he
was furious. She assumed the worst—that perhaps
he had been given some bad news by the doctor and she worried that her hope and
excitement of his survival was maybe somehow misguided. As she questioned the man about what was
wrong and if there was anything she could do to help, she learned his problem
was cold oatmeal. The nurse concluded
her story sharing the disbelief she felt when this man who had literally been
given an unbelievable second chance at life a day or two earlier was now enraged
over some cold oatmeal.
Life is perspective as shown in this story. How often are we like the man in the story? How often are we given so much but seem to
only focus on the one or two minor things that are wrong in life? How often do we miss out on an otherwise amazing
experience because we choose to dwell on something insignificant? How often do we take the wrong perspective
and sour our own life?
The perspective we choose determines our happiness. Like the man in the story, we can dwell on the
little negative things that surround us and we can even believe that others are
out to get us, or we can see the good and marvelous blessing we have in life. Each of us is blessed in many ways if we
choose to see it—and in every event or circumstance in life there can always be
found a silver lining.
Life is about perspective. When
we take control of our perspective, we take control of our life. And having the right perspective in every situation
will lead us to success and happiness in life.
“The happiest people are
not those that have the best of everything, they are those who make the
best of everything.”
Unknown
Life is all about perspective.
Because the perspective we take determines our success and happiness in
life. If we choose wisely and take the
right perspective, we will always succeed.
To illustrate this point let me share a little story. I once knew a couple that had been married
for a long time and spent much of their time together. Because they were so close, they experienced much
of the same things in life, had the same hardships and challenges, the same
good times and bad. One would assume the
level of happiness and success in life between these two would be virtually the
same or at least fairly similar. However
when I spoke to them, I felt like I was talking to two people that were living
in completely different worlds. One was
happy, grateful, and truly believed everything was going his way while the
other thought just the opposite. She
acted as if the cards were stacked against her, that life was difficult and
unforgiving, and that happiness was nearly nonexistent. They were an interesting couple indeed and I’ve
been thinking about them lately. Even
though they had virtually the same experiences, their results in life and how
they felt were so different. And the
reason was because of their individual perspectives.
Now the great thing about perspective is that we choose it. No one can control our perspective or force
us to see things their way. We choose
every day how we will perceive every situation and therefore our life. We can take a “glass half-full” or “glass
half-empty” view of the world, the choice is completely ours.
Like all choices, there are consequences that follow. When we choose a positive perspective in
life, we most often get positive consequences that result in improved
self-image and satisfaction in life to name a few. When we choose a negative perspective, negative
consequences may follow including sadness, hopelessness, a lack of self-confidence,
guilt, and depression. And these lists
of both positive and negative consequences could go on and on. So I hope you get my point…having and maintaining
the right perspective is so critical to our success and happiness in life!
No matter what happens or what comes our way, let’s choose to take a
positive perspective! There is no
benefit for not doing so. As we have a
positive perspective on life, we will have more peace, more success, and more
joy.
