Perspective is Everything

Shifting Your Perspective: Finding Growth and Happiness in Everyday Challenges

The perspective you choose will either make you feel happy or cause you to suffer.

Let me give you a very simple example. My husband just did the dishes, but he left a huge puddle of water all around the sink. I walked into the kitchen and noticed both things. At that moment, I had a choice: I could focus on the puddle, get annoyed, and make myself suffer, or I could think, "Awesome! He did the dishes!" Then, I could wipe the counter—something that took me all of five seconds—and move on with my day feeling a little happier because I had some great help.

In both scenarios, the external world didn’t change. The dishes, the puddle, and my husband all stayed the same. But my choice of perspective determined how I felt in that moment.

Now, let’s talk about your happiness. Think of one thing that’s bothering you right now. Look at it as a simple fact, without attaching a story to it. Now ask yourself:

• What other perspectives exist in this situation?

• What else is there?

• Can you expand your vision wide enough to see a different angle—one that might let you feel even a small glimpse of happiness?

Let me be clear: I’m not saying your current perspective isn’t valid. Not at all! This is not an exercise in gaslighting yourself. It’s an exercise in cultivating eagle vision. Can you zoom out far enough to see more, to include more in your perspective?

• Can you see how this current challenge might be helpful to you?

• Can you find a lesson it might be offering?

• Can you discover the gift?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few years, it’s this: Things are not happening to me; they are happening forme. There is always a gift, even if I can’t see it right away.

Let me know what you discover when you shift your perspective!

Now, you might say, “Nataliya, a puddle of water is hardly the same as the job I hate so much. That job is sucking the life out of me, and it’s impossible to find anything positive in that situation without gaslighting myself.”

I hear you. But I’m still going to say the same thing: there is a gift.

What is the gift? It might be that you need to trust yourself enough to quit that job. Or maybe it’s an opportunity to make the situation better (which, more often than not, is possible). Perhaps it’s inviting you to face a fear you’ve been avoiding.

What is it for you? What’s the growing edge?

Growth and transformation always come through discomfort. So, ask yourself: What is the situation that’s making you unhappy trying to invite you to expand into?

These are big questions to ponder, but I’d love to hear what comes up for you.

Much love,
Nataliya

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