"3 Steps for Shifting Your Perspective"

I recently took this photo and several days later, I ran into someone who had seen the image on my Facebook profile. They thought that I had taken it from the second floor of a building, that has no second floor, which caused confusion. I actually took the photo while standing on the sidewalk. It's a great example of how our perspective influences our interpretation of a situation. 

Over the last couple months I have been going through a significant transition / transformation. There were times where I became quite stuck in a perspective. The most common perspective for me, was an either or scenario. I find that when emotions and stress are involved, it becomes quite easy to get stuck in the mud. The situation, was either move back to Squamish or stay on Vancouver Island. Very quickly, I would come up with a list of pro's and con's on each side of the problem. Then my mind would cycle through the pro's and con's, trying to solve the problem. This would go on for a number of days until I finally decided to ask for help.

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I asked for help, after reaching a point of exhaustion. Kind of like a dog, that gets tired of chasing its tail. What's interesting, is that the moment I talked to my friend (Thanks Steve!), who introduced a fresh idea into the mix. It was something that I had considered, but tossed out or eliminated it as an option.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them"  ~ Albert Einstein

The suggestion, "Move back to North Vancouver and stay with your Dad for a while"...... I had tossed this idea, quite quickly in the process for many reasons. Mainly because of pride and some other reasons. At the age of 43, moving back in with Dad was not something I wanted to do. After my friend made the suggestion, I took a deep breath and let it sit for a moment. I immediately felt a sense of relief as I focused on the positive things that would come from that choice. I realized that I would be able to take action, while previously, I had been completely stuck. I now had a fresh perspective to work from which allowed me to move forward with ease.

Try these 3 steps for shifting your perspective:

1) Ask for help ~ Call a friend or family member. Share your story. Tell them you need help finding a different perspective or solution. Something will quite naturally show up in the process of sharing and talking.

2) Try it on ~ Just like shopping for clothes. What may look bad on the hanger might look good on you. You won't know for sure until try it on. Reflect on the perspective. List the positives. Notice how your body feels.

3) Choose ~  Making a choice can be a relief and it is empowering. This will likely move you forward and lead you to action.

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“When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.”  ~ Paulo Coelho