Your perspective is important. “ Let’s eat, Grandma!” is very different than, “Lets eat Grandma!”. Something just as small as a little comma (,) can make a big difference in the way we look at the world around us.
Thinking about the way you think about things (called your metacognition, or self-awareness) can really impact the way you perceive your world. And, your perception of the world shapes your reality. Your reality shapes how you feel, and so, your insight and self-awareness are pretty important factors in improving your life.
Even if something isn’t true, if we believe it to be true, then it might as well be! The truth is: Don’t believe everything you think!
So how do you change your perspective? Think about these things:
1.) Be grateful for what you have: By being grateful for what you have in your life, you tend to worry less about what you do not have. This results in a change of perspective. There is always going to be someone else that has it worse off than you. Remembering what you do have will help keep your attitude in check.
2.) Turn negatives into strengths: Despite the struggles that you may experience from day to day living, rather than focusing solely on these struggles and trying to "fix" them, channel your thoughts and energy towards challenging yourself to do something new - something different. And don’t forget that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
3.) Seek out opportunities to learn: Seeing an experience as a challenge will focus your attention on a positive outcome. See the difficult things in your life as opportunities to learn something new. Notice that your issues are problems to be solved instead of battles to be won.
4.) Surround yourself with positive people: People with positive attitudes can greatly influence the way you think. Break away from those who are constantly negative as all they do is bring you down. You have plenty of your own issues, so if someone is bringing you down and they are a negative influence in your life, cancel that subscription!
Find out more about Mike at www.reachfamilytherapy.com
