Shifting Your Perspective

I talk often about gratitude, and the importance of being able to fully appreciate all the wonderful blessings, assets, people, and abilities in our life currently, rather than constantly focusing on all the things that we don't have. What about gratitude when it comes to our current circumstances though? What if we are currently encountering circumstances that are creating stress, anxiety, worry, suffering, and pain? How are we meant to feel a sense of gratitude when things are going totally against us? It's not an easy thing to do, to go searching for positives in a sea of negativity, but it can be done through a simple shifting of our perspective. First things first, a lot of the time, the circumstances that we find ourselves are not because life is being cruel to us, they are not because other people are making our life difficult, or they are not because we are unlucky in life. In fact, a lot of the time, the circumstances we find ourselves in are as a result of our past decisions and non-decisions. They are a result of our past actions and inactions. That's not to say all the time that adversity is thrown our way, that we are to blame. There are a lot of situations and events that take place outside of our control, and we are left to face suffering and pain, such as the passing of a loved one. Most of the time however, the reason that our circumstances become so uncomfortable, and so painful, are because of the decisions, non-decisions, actions, and inactions, that have led us there. An example of that for me was when I was working in my previous job. I was hating life, I was depressed, and I was even in tears in the rest rooms on many occasions, such had become my distaste for the job. Whose fault was that though? The job description was clear. The company I worked for was clear in their expectations. No one was forcing me to remain there. It's obvious, I was to blame! I hated that job, yet I remained there because I felt I had to stay, in order to make a living for myself. It was my decision to remain there. It was my non-decision in not changing employment. I created those uncomfortable circumstances for myself. So first thing's first, take ownership of the circumstances you're in, by admitting that you made the wrong decision, or you failed to act on changing the situation.

Here comes the change in perspective bit though. Naturally, when circumstances become extremely uncomfortable, it eventually pushes us to take action, and make some changes. Why do we take action and make changes for? Because we hate the circumstances we are in, simple. This hatred can act as great fuel and motivation to make us want to change, and strive for something a lot better, but let's not forget that hatred is a negative emotion after all. It's hard to produce positive results when we are operating from a zone of negativity. What if we changed our perspective in line with our action to change? What do I mean by this? Well let's look at my example above again. I hated the job I was working in, and I hated the corporate world, which gave me motivation to quit, and start my own business. Now that's great and all, and it's one of the best decisions of my life to date. I entered into the personal development industry, which I am so grateful for, because it has helped me in such a huge way mentally, that I cannot put into words how beneficial it has been. The problem was, the business model itself. As much as I was helping others, I wasn't enjoying what I was doing, nor was I convinced by the design of the business model. After 18 months of operating this business, I pulled the pin on it, and started a different sales business. I kept my blog going in order to continue motivating and inspiring others, however, as I recognize the importance of helping others in life. But I realized that my decision to quit my job and depart the corporate world was out of pure hatred for them, when I should've made it from a totally different perspective. I needed to resign from my job, and depart the corporate world, in order to find my passion in life, and to discover work satisfaction. I needed to make the decision because I prioritized happiness in my life. I was led by the negativity that hatred produces though, that my motive for quitting my job was just to get the hell out of there, when I should've directed my focus onto discovering my passion, and finding my purpose. I should have been appreciative for all the skills and education I learned from that job, and the other jobs I had before it, because they would ultimately help me in my business. Therefore, should I really harbor so much hatred towards that job? It gave me the motivation to make one of the best decisions of my life, it gave me beneficial skills and education, and it gave me money to start my own business. It's just a simple change in perspective.

What about when we look in the mirror, as another example. Some of us look in the mirror in total disgust, and we hate the way our body looks, maybe as a result of being overweight perhaps? Again though, whose fault is that? It's ourselves! It's us who have made decisions to eat poorly. It's us who have made decisions to not exercise. It's us who have made decisions to go out binge drinking each weekend. All this, and yet we look in the mirror and we have hatred towards our body. It's not our body's fault, it's our lack of willpower. We don't want to beat ourselves up about it though, because we cannot change our decisions and actions of the past, but we do have control of our future. Now we can be fueled by that hatred towards our body, which can push us into action in changing our diet, and inspire us to exercise more often, but the fact that we are hating our body is not the right perspective or attitude to have. We should actually be thankful to our body for allowing us to have treated it so poorly, and yet still be functioning. We should be appreciative of what our body allows us to do. What if we now focus on rewarding our body? What if we now give a little back? By changing our perspective from hating our body, to loving our body, is a great start. With love comes commitment. As a show of gratitude and appreciation for what our body allows us to do in life, such as the ability to walk, to talk, to see, to touch, to explore, to dance, to sing, you name it, we are going to show commitment towards it, by treating it with love. We are going to provide it with the adequate sleep that it requires. We are going to nourish it with healthy foods, such as plenty of fruit and vegetables. We are going to keep it active and energized by engaging in at least 30 minutes intense daily exercise. How can we hate something that is keeping us alive? Love your body, just change your perspective, and ultimately, change your habits. Weed out the hatred in your life, and exchange it for gratitude and appreciation. Allow positivity to be your driver and motivator in your life, not negativity. It's that simple change of perspective that may be the difference between happiness and satisfaction, and misery and dissatisfaction.

#Wednesday #WednesdayMotivation #motivation #quote #perspective #mindset #change #happiness #satisfaction #positivity #hatred #gratitude #appreciation #motive #focus #body #health #attitude #reason #decisions #actions #thankful #fuel #circumstances #ownership #WindOfChangeNow