The Magic of Perspective
When you think about your life, what is the story you keep telling yourself, and how do you perceive the person in the mirror? Is your story a mystery? A drama? A love story? Fiction?
Do you keep beating yourself up because of all the past mistakes and failures, or are you high-fiving the hero looking right back at you?
Whatever story you tell yourself is the one that you believe the most.
We often hear how perspective is everything, but nobody ever truly teaches us how there are infinite perspectives from which life can be viewed and that the choice of how we’re going to perceive life is completely up to us.
The truth is, you will never be able to control life. But you can always choose the way you look at the things that happen to you and around you.
No matter how well-prepared you are, and how clear your vision for your future is, life will sometimes change your path and throw challenges at you just to redirect you and show that it has other plans for you.
Once you understand that failures are actually opportunities for growth, it changes everything. This is where your perspective can become your superpower. And it can take you places you never dreamed of.
Heroes see life through the lens of optimism
Many people confuse shifting their perspective and seeing life through the lens of optimism with positive thinking.
While positive thinking works for some people, to be quite honest, I'm not naturally wired to be positive. I have to read more books, listen to more stuff, and spend time with positive people, just to keep my mindset focused on what is possible instead of what is probable.
Optimism is different than positive thinking. Positive thinking tends to ignore reality and pretend. Optimism is not about overlooking our current circumstances and situations but rather looking at them head-on with hope and a greater vision of what could be. Optimism is a skill set that requires practice and persistence to become proficient at the discipline of seeing what we can do instead of what others say we can’t do.
Let me share a quick story with you. When my son was a little guy, we went to Walt Disney World, and one of the things we did was watch a 3-D movie called A Bug's Life. The movie was fantastic, and we had a wonderful time.
But when we first got there, there was this other family; mom, dad, and their 3 kids, and just as they were getting settled in, I noticed there was an argument going on between the parents.
As we overheard the conversation, dad was saying he was not putting on the glasses because they were going to make him look like a dork. And mom was arguing with him about how they're there for the kids, that he's going to put them on and enjoy the time with his family.
Honestly, my first thought was that he really should have thought about looking silly before putting on the fanny pack and the mouse ears, because the glasses weren't going to make a whole lot of difference at that point.
Even today, when I think about optimism, I think about that guy.
It makes me wonder how many people aren't willing to see life through the lens of optimism just because they're afraid they're going to look stupid, and people are going to label them as some kind of positive thinking freak.
My question to you is - who cares?
There's one thing I know for sure. If you sat in that movie and didn't have those glasses on, you wouldn't be able to see the movie the way it was meant to be seen. You wouldn't see it the way the creators have designed it; the richness, the texture, and the color of that movie.
You'd experienced a one-dimensional view of a three-dimensional movie.
And that's how so many people go through life. They turn this beautiful, three-dimensional, rich and colorful, deep and meaningful life into a one-dimensional mediocre version that offers no excitement and fulfillment.
Know where you are right now
You see, the power of perspective doesn't lie in your ability to think positively all of the time. It's about knowing where you are right now.
The great ones, the high achievers, understand that now always leads to next. They make a conscious decision that no matter what happens and where they are right now, they're going to keep digging to find the best of themselves and never allow anything or anyone to dim their light.
So, how do you join the club of the great ones? By shifting your perspective from shame to self-worth, from self-doubt to confidence, and by doing what you can, with what you have, right where you are.
Did life serve you another setback? Use it as an opportunity for an even greater comeback.
People disappointed and hurt you? Become more grateful for all the wonderful people in your life that always got your back.
You made a terrible mistake? Stop beating yourself up and turn it into a valuable life lesson for the future.
You see, it's not about thinking positively. It's about turning everything that happens in life, even the things that sometimes feel unbearable, into fuel for becoming a greater version of yourself in this season of your life, so you could be prepared and excited about all of the future possibilities.
Perspective has extraordinary power. Even as you feel like giving up or you’re grieving the loss of someone or something, or dwelling on past failures or coasting on past success, it's your perspective that will either leave you at a bitter place filled with self-doubt and regret or open the door to a better place filled with opportunities to achieve your dreams and make life better for those around you.
And that’s where the magic begins.
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Kevin D. Brown is a branding and culture expert. He’s an award-winning motivational speaker, bestselling author, and the creator of The Hero Effect®. Follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.