All About Perspective

A lot happened this week that got me thinking about perspectives and I came across a poster titled ‘Simple formula for living’ comprised of pieces of advice to help us.

Some of the tips ranged from living beneath your means, returning everything you borrow and not arguing to learning from the past and planning for the future. It ended with not sweating the small stuff. It concluded that, ‘it’s all small stuff’.

Perspective is the way we think about, understand and see something and this is shaped by factors including our life experiences, background and upbringing. It is also a way of regarding the facts and judging their importance relative to each other.

A couple of trending videos that I watched in the last few weeks were about understanding the value of waking up each day. We all hear about each day being a gift and most of us gloss over that philosophical statement until something forces a change of perspective and helps us to truly get the meaning and value of a new day. The key messages were to see how much financial worth people placed on their lives or health and help them put perceived challenges into perspective.

They were asked if receiving a certain amount would make them happy or solve all their problems and each person was excited at the prospect of receiving a huge sum of money. They were then asked if they would still want the money if it came with the condition of losing their health or not waking up the next day, every single person who thought their problems would be solved by money chose to decline the money in  exchange for being alive and well.

They chose to keep their challenges and have life, they chose what they previously perceived as a ‘life of misery and suffering’ and proved no amount of money was worth the gift of life and health. Some people were asked if they would take the money but lose their health or limbs and they said no, even when the financial stakes were raised. No amount was deemed enough not to have life and be in good health.

The conclusion from one of those videos is, ‘if waking up is more valuable than any amount of money, why aren’t we waking up feeling rich.

If having our health is far more valuable than any amount of money, why do we still wake up unhappy, ungrateful, complaining and unexcited about the day or life in general?‘

Why do we forget that just by waking up and being healthy, we are already wealthy and blessed with what money can’t buy?

It’s all about the lens we have on and our perspectives. Many of the things that stop us from seeing the bigger picture are ‘the small stuffs’ that we sweat. They sometimes stop us from looking for solutions and take us down the complaining path. Some other experiences are way bigger than ‘the small stuff’ but time eventually helps us to correctly categorise them.

Yesterday, a friend lost a third family member in a short space of time and words fail anyone who wants to comfort them. We know they will be dealing with their emotions and have many questions; we know they would have given anything for their loved ones to still be here but couldn’t.

They will wonder if life is worth it, perhaps wish they had called, visited more or do more in general. They will feel that life has been unfair and have questions about ‘why them’ whilst knowing the answers will not come and they will be reminded about their powerlessness when it comes to life.

I have admired their resilience, faith, trust and approach to life as they have dealt with previous challenges and losses. My prayer is that they will get through this as well and it will not break them.

I know with each challenge and loss, my friend’s perspective about life is being refined and fine-tuned. I have no doubt that as they heal, they will continue to make a difference as they have always done but with even more renewed sense of hope, faith, focus, determination and passion.

For the rest of us, I hope we focus on the big pictures of ‘being alive’ and ‘well’ instead of sweating the ‘small stuffs’ that stop us from being grateful, excited and happy about life and each new day. Take your days and your joy back by changing your perspective.

Have a great week and please do share this post with others.