The Power of Perspective

If this year has taught me anything, it is the power of perspective. I thought 2020 was going to be my year. Everyone made the joke “20 / 20 vision.” It was really overdone.

Then something happened. There was a shift in the way we are used to living. A brand-new way to experience this world. An eye-opening, global crossing pandemic.

Some had high hopes this would be over by summer. Some people still don’t think it is real. Some people are tragically impacted by it. Some people are only annoyed by the inconvenience of wearing a mask. Either way, everyone is looking at this pandemic from a different perspective.

Whether a perspective is right or wrong is up to the individual. They can have outside sources to come to their decision or they can internally believe in a decision. Either way, a choice is made and we label a perspective 

This year started out feeling like the worst possible year. After time, I’ve realized how ridiculous it is to label an entire year as one thing. I have no control over what happens tomorrow. Despite making plans, things can change in an instance. It can become overwhelming or it can just be what life is.   

I can focus all my energy on everything I think is going bad right now or I can acknowledge that in order for something to be bad, something has to be good. When we focus on the chaos, chaos is all you see. If you focus on the solutions, you might not solve the problem. But if you acknowledge the problems and then take steps to improve it, things can change.

I’ve been working on fixing my perspective. Every day brings an unexpected blessing. Before bed or even during the day, I just start thinking about all the things I am grateful for. My perspective is through a lens of gratitude. Since I am focused on the unexpected blessings, unexpected blessings appear. For example, I saw a shooting star driving home from Brockport. It was amazing.

I still experience some anxiety and fear of the unknown, but I am grateful for those emotions because they make me human. I am continuously working on self-love. I am trying not to get too weighed down or overwhelmed by what the future holds. I still don’t feel at my full potential, but I am grateful that I am enough even if I don’t feel it yet.   

Take some time out of the day to figure what your perspective on life is. You might realize that your views are mostly negative or mostly positive. Either way, figuring out your perspective helps make the groundwork for how you want your life to be. The small things matter.