The importance of perspective

I have recently returned from a pretty special holiday celebrating my best mate’s 50th.  There is nothing like a break and a change of culture to renew one’s perspective.  I came home realising that I was becoming burnt out and had lost not only my balanced view but also, potentially, my sense of humour.  I realised that I had become focused on hearing the negative and was allowing this to affect and undermine my sense of self.  I had forgotten to ‘know my truth’ and stand strong in my life journey – committed to leaving this place better than I found it. 

We all have moments in life when it is hard to see the forest for the trees.  Where other’s opinions are loud and harsh.  What we tend to forget is that they are only opinions and come from one person’s perspective of life.  If they are angry with life, they tend to see only the anger in it, just as if one is happy with life they will look for the good in it.  

To be clear feedback is important – even if you don’t have a choice in how it arrives, you do have a choice in how you receive it.  It provides the opportunity to review one’s approach, check in so to speak and look at one’s motives.  One can choose to learn and grow from the experience; it can strengthen ones resolve or simply be recognised as venting and thus has actually nothing to do with you.  The other option is to retaliate like with like or allow it to feed the self doubt and we already live in a world where too many people lack self belief. 

​So, I’m going to take a leaf out of the Balinese and be more happy.  Laugh more often, hug my daughter more, hang out with more good, like-minded people, spend time smelling the roses and being even more grateful for this incredible country that we live in – my golly we are spoilt.  Not saying that there isn’t plenty that needs to be addressed – sooner rather than later I trust.

At the end of the day, it’s about perspective and our conscious decision on how we choose to see the world – or more to the point, how we choose to participate.  Be part of the problem or be part of the solution.  My choice, of course, is to stand tall and be part of the change for a better tomorrow.