Start From Within
Have you ever considered the possibility that "the way we see the problem is the problem" as Stephen Covey discusses in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
When I was in elementary school I remember one particular exercise that had a tremendous impact on me and quite frankly, has shaped the way I view the world. I remember being given close up shots of photos to look at and I was asked to give my honest reaction to each one. One particular photo had a car parked in two parking spots; the car intersected the parking spots diagonally. My initial reaction was, "How rude! They are taking up two spots!"
Next I was shown the same photo however instead of the close up of the car in the parking spots, I could now see the building that the car was sitting in front of. The sign on the building said "Emergency Room" and I was told that someone's wife was about to have a baby and they had just pulled up to the hospital. I was again asked for my reaction... I felt myself soften and now I empathized with the couple and their situation.
Folks, you do what you do and you think what you think because of what you know now, in this moment in time... but as you move forward your view of the world changes with new input you receive. Albert Einstein once mused, "The significant problems we face cannot be resolved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." If we take responsiblity for our own actions and stop to think that there may be something I am not seeing, we can adjust our reactions to the world around us. It's the glass is half empty, glass is half full syndrome.
Growth is an "inside-out" process as Stephen Covey explains. He states that, "...if you want to have a happy marriage, be the kind of person who generates positive energy and sidesteps negative energy rather than empowering it. If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, empathic, consistent, loving parent." In short, if you want to be understood, first strive to understand...
It is all too easy to jump to conclusions and to think negatively. That is how we are programmed and our programming is nothing more than a means of protection. Per T. Harv Eker in a recent interview with Success magazine editor, Darren Hardy, "Your mind is nothing more than a survival mechanism; its job is not to make you happy; its job is not to make you successful; its job is to keep you alive." We were designed to be cautious, fearful, speculative; however, we do not need to remain that way!
If you are waiting for the world to change in order to change your perspective, I'm afraid time will pass you by. Don't let the noise around you color your view... remember that your view starts from within. If you change yourself first, the things around you will change. Just stop and ask yourself from time to time, "Is the way I am seeing this problem really the problem?"
When I was in elementary school I remember one particular exercise that had a tremendous impact on me and quite frankly, has shaped the way I view the world. I remember being given close up shots of photos to look at and I was asked to give my honest reaction to each one. One particular photo had a car parked in two parking spots; the car intersected the parking spots diagonally. My initial reaction was, "How rude! They are taking up two spots!"
Next I was shown the same photo however instead of the close up of the car in the parking spots, I could now see the building that the car was sitting in front of. The sign on the building said "Emergency Room" and I was told that someone's wife was about to have a baby and they had just pulled up to the hospital. I was again asked for my reaction... I felt myself soften and now I empathized with the couple and their situation.
Folks, you do what you do and you think what you think because of what you know now, in this moment in time... but as you move forward your view of the world changes with new input you receive. Albert Einstein once mused, "The significant problems we face cannot be resolved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." If we take responsiblity for our own actions and stop to think that there may be something I am not seeing, we can adjust our reactions to the world around us. It's the glass is half empty, glass is half full syndrome.
Growth is an "inside-out" process as Stephen Covey explains. He states that, "...if you want to have a happy marriage, be the kind of person who generates positive energy and sidesteps negative energy rather than empowering it. If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, empathic, consistent, loving parent." In short, if you want to be understood, first strive to understand...
It is all too easy to jump to conclusions and to think negatively. That is how we are programmed and our programming is nothing more than a means of protection. Per T. Harv Eker in a recent interview with Success magazine editor, Darren Hardy, "Your mind is nothing more than a survival mechanism; its job is not to make you happy; its job is not to make you successful; its job is to keep you alive." We were designed to be cautious, fearful, speculative; however, we do not need to remain that way!
If you are waiting for the world to change in order to change your perspective, I'm afraid time will pass you by. Don't let the noise around you color your view... remember that your view starts from within. If you change yourself first, the things around you will change. Just stop and ask yourself from time to time, "Is the way I am seeing this problem really the problem?"
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