A little perspective never killed anyone.
IN FACT. . .
I’d be willing to argue that perspective, and an accurate use of it, will be the difference between how you can face failure and disappointment head-on for the rest of your life.
And yeah, as a former freelance writer and aspiring novelist with no less than 45 rejection letters under her belt, I know A LOT about failure and disappointment.
Which is how I learned about perspective.
Fight Resistance with Acceptance
Take a moment to consider when a conversation wasn’t accentuating the positives, an interview was not displaying your strengths or a project did not turn out right.
It happens far more often than we hope.
Here are just some of the conversation starters I’ve heard this year alone:
“I get that you’re a writer and entrepreneur. BUT how do you make money?”
“I don’t think I could work from home.”
“Oh, yeah, I have a friend who blogs… He lives with his parents.”
You can imagine those don’t exactly kick dialogues off with harmony and acceptance from me.
I get it.
My lifestyle and my choices aren’t for everyone, so the only place people can really come from is positions of doubt, concern or questioning. Most people don’t even realize that that’s how they’re wired, and would love to change if they only knew HOW.
Those talking points–and so many others that we hear at the dinner table, in the board room, at the gym–are all lacking in the very perspective that we can all develop.
Each and every one of us can train and harness the powers of depth and understanding that make us human.
Somehow, it gets lost in everyday banality.
But. . .
There’s a Lesson in This (Even if We Don’t know it Yet)
Why is it so EASY to believe that a failure is a failure, a setback is a setback and that the series of moments that encompass a bad day are not just fleeting puffs of air?
The answer is simple:
It’s really good for business.
We were all trained to be good little worker bees, invested in the company’s message, buzzing to the common goal. We believed the industrialists, the capitalists, and the economists who said that feeling and innovation are bad, assembly-line thinking and manufacturing is good.
Keep this in mind in everything you do:
We are not insular, one direction-traveling beings.
We are thinking, feeling, and free.
We were made this way on purpose.
Mistakes happen. Things don’t go our way. We can’t control everything.
But we can choose to see the bigger picture, to ask questions, to learn lessons, and to walk with grace.
Those are the FOOL-PROOF steps to a life full of perspective and growth.
When you encounter a lack of empathy, patience or perspective, know that the person is experiencing a temporary state of blindness that we all face in our own journeys, and choose to welcome them with kindness.
Give Yourself a “Perspective Check-Up” by Answering 4 Questions
- Am I giving my all to what I have chosen to do in this life?
- Do I help others, and are others happy to help me?
- Where are my gifts and talents best suited?
- Do my goals align with personal growth, change and meaning?
Here are my answers: “My name is Kristina, and I give my all to helping people and companies communicate honestly with one another. I help others in my work but I also help non-profits and other special organizations, like the New York Writers Coalition and DefyVentures. My talents are best suited in the arts and teaching capacities. My goals are to continue to create powerful change in the world, and I hope this post is a part of that.”
How do you put things in perspective? I can’t wait to read your reply to the 4 questions!
Image by Bahman Farzad.
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