The Real Power of Perspective

I found a very interesting article by Sherry Essig in Women's Edge magazine , “It’s Your Day -- and Your Choice.” Sherry discusses an affirmation she uses at the beginning of each day to help keep her focused, on track and productive…

“Today, I choose to believe that I will be on an interesting hike filled with learning and opportunity.”

She says she got this idea after reading an interview with an IBM executive who began every day by repeating…

“I choose to believe today will be the greatest adventure ever.”

I like this thinking.  Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss inStraight Talk for Success.  If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things: 1) become a lifelong learner; 2) set and achieve high goals; 3) get organized, manage your time, life and stress well.

Sherry Essig makes some great points about how to manage your time, life and stress. 

“Project not going as planned?  No reason to get tied up in knots, it’s all part of the greatest adventure.    Flying high after the successful rollout of a new initiative?  Whee, what fun, but don’t forget it’s just part of the greatest adventure.  Stress level climbing?   Time to regroup and remember adventures are about discovery and fun.”

In other words, don’t let your life run you, run your life.  Don’t get too low, or too high, or too freaked out. 

As Sherry says…

“Stuff happens every day: good, bad and irrelevant.  Your perspective creates your experiences – and when your perspective changes, so does your experience.”

I have a friend who lost her job recently.  It wasn’t her fault.  The startup for which she worked was undercapitalized and tanked in this tough economy.  At first, she was freaked out.  She spent the weekend scouring the job boards, looking for a job, any job for which she could apply. 

By Monday, she realized that she had enough money to last for a while, and that she could use this time to find another job she really liked, or start a business using her graphic design and project management skills.  She sent me an e mail saying…

“The phone has been ringing all morning! I couldn't keep up with the calls on two lines. The positive energy that's getting returned to me is overwhelming.  I haven't even gotten out of my pajamas yet and a business is starting to form.  I'm going to ride this wave. But first I'm going to do the laundry… My intention is to live every day of the next six months as if I'm the luckiest girl in the world, and we'll see where that takes me.”

See what a little shift in perspective will do for you? 

The common sense point here is simple.  Outstanding performers manage their time, life and stress well.  As Sherry Essig points out, stuff happens – bad stuff, unpleasant stuff, stressful stuff, stuff you can’t control.  Many things in life are out of your control.  How you react to your experiences is one of the few things you can control.

When you choose how you want to view your day and the things that happen, you are taking control.  That’s real power.  Taking this type of power and control over your life will help you meet your goals, become an outstanding performer, and a career and life success.  That’s what has happened for my friend.  And it can happen for you, if you are willing to take charge of your life.

That’s my take on how choosing how you will react to the events of your life can help you become an outstanding performer.  What’s yours?  Please leave a comment sharing your experiences on reframing the difficult things that have happened to you and how you were able to turn them into positives.  As always, thanks for reading. 

Tomorrow is the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA.  I am going to take off some time and enjoy the long weekend with Cathy and friends.  I will post again on Monday December 1.  I have many things for which to be thankful.  I am especially thankful for you and the time you spend reading and commenting on this blog.  If you are in the US, Happy Thanksgiving.  If you are in another country, tomorrow is still a good day to take some time to count the blessings in your life.

Bud

Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy, is an executive coach, motivational speaker, author and blogger. Bilanich is Harvard educated but has a no nonsense approach to his work to goes back to his roots in the steel country of Western Pennsylvania.

He is the author of seven books, including Straight Talk for Success: Common Sense Ideas That Won’t Let You Down, where he presents his blueprint for career and life success.

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