New Glasses – Fresh Perspective
When my daughter was about 2 ½ or 3 years old she found a pair of huge green framed glasses at a yard sale and fell in love with them. She would put them on, grab a J.R. Tolkien book and head off to find her favorite spot. I would often find her contently curled up with a blanket “reading” the book upside down! She would do this for hours.
(Mum disclaimer: I removed the lenses so the frames were empty as not to affect her vision.)
I’m sharing this with you because it reminds me how we feel about life depends on the lens we view our experiences through. At that time in her life, she was extremely happy to “read” upside down.
Ever wonder how two people can experience the same event yet walk away with two completely different versions of what occurred?
I’ve spent a lot of time understanding the beliefs, thoughts and habits that contribute to the lens I view life through. As a lifelong learner, I’ve embraced curiosity to discover what would happen if I shifted my perspective and thoughts about things.
Being curious is powerful. One of my favorite questions is, “What’s another way I could see this?” In other words, what if I were to put on the green framed glasses, what would I see differently through them?
By the way, being 50ish, I have several pairs of reading glasses in every room of my house. All different shapes and colors. I use them as a reminder that there is always more than one way to view what is happening in life. It’s all about perspective.
I also challenge myself to find the gold nugget of learning in every situation and conversation. What’s the take away I can bring with me as I continue my journey? Some call it the lesson, some call it the blessing…gold nugget resonates with me. As a precious metal, I can polish it by practicing what I learned right away or put it in my pocket for later, taking it out anytime I choose.
You might be reading this wondering…when would it be helpful to throw on a new pair of glasses?
Well, I do it when I feel fearful, anxious or frustrated about something. What I notice when I put fresh glasses on, is it opens up the window a tiny crack to what could be possible. The situation could be slightly different than how I’m currently seeing it, and my fear, anxiety or frustration begin to ease.
I am able to begin to reframe my thoughts in new ways shifting my perspective which helps me create a path forward or a least the next small step.
Many of my clients use this same process of “changing their glasses” or lens they view things through to shift how they feel about it.
Are your ready for glasses? If you’re curious, take a moment and identify a situation or conversation where you think it could be helpful to see it from a fresh perspective. Then imagine taking off the glasses you are currently viewing it through and put on a new pair.
Ask yourself, what’s another way I can look at this? What’s the opportunity for me e.g. lesson, blessing, learning? Test out all the different angles to see what’s different about the viewpoints. How does it change how you feel?
If you want to explore more about shifting your perspective by changing the glasses you’ve been wearing, click here to sign up for a discovery call with me today.