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Practicing
Perspective
Do you or the individuals in your
organization have a difficult time
keeping things in perspective?
Have you lost your life balance
or wonder if you are reaching
your maximum potential? If
you struggle with any of these
concepts, don’t worry—you’re
not alone! Most people battle
the inner-conflict of searching
for that next step in their life in
the attempt to attain happiness,
peace, and contentment. The
good news is that even if you
have an abundance of goals
that you still wish to attain or if
things are a bit bumpy in your
life, your contentment and joy
can still begin
today
!
Often, we just go through the
motions and accept our natural
thought-process as if we have
no other choice. The thing is, we
do--we have complete control
over howwe choose to think and
look at the world around us. The
concept of perspective is just
that, it is the lens in which we
choose to look at life through.
Are you focusing on the
positives of what’s going on
around you or do you tend to
hone in on what is going wrong,
what needs improved, or what
you haven’t completed yet? I will
be the first to admit, practicing
perspective is not an easy task. I
say this because we are human
and sometimes our natural
thought-process veers towards
the negative; sometimes to the
extent that we sabotage our
mood or even our entire day.
Have you ever been stuck in
a traffic jam because of a car
accident and you were already
late to wherever it was that you
were going? You say to yourself,
“ugh, I am already late, why do
these things always happen
to me?” You glance over to the
opposite lane of traffic and see
the cars flowing on by without
even a slight delay. You say,
“Why aren’t I over there? Why do
I have such terrible luck?” This is
the perfect moment to practice
perspective and if you take a
moment to stop comparing
yourself to the opposite lane of
traffic and instead take a deep
breath and glance at the car
ahead that was actually in the
accident and compare yourself
to them. It is then that you realize
that THEY had a bad day, not
you. That is someone’s spouse,
maybe a parent, or child and they
may even be in a life changing
state. Sure, it is not convenient to
be stuck in traffic but there are
much worse circumstances you
could find yourself in.
This analogy aligns right along
with other inconveniences in
life, try to find a silver lining
and at minimum, remember
things could almost always be
worse. Or, if you are frustrated
with your job, your family or
other relationships, remember
there are people who are
unemployed or do not have
a family at all. As soon as you
tweak your mindset and look for
the positives in your situation,
career, and relationships, you
By Deitra Hickey, PhD
SOAR TO SUCCESS
/
S
eptember
2016
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Personal Growth Strategies