It’s all in the view…

On Tuesday evening I was on my way to Kiki’s school to pick her and I was running late. All the traffic demons had come out to play and Lagos traffic was showing itself as usual. I suddenly remembered a sitcom I used to watch as a child. Rent-a-ghost. Who remembers it? The Rent-a-ghost peeps could disappear by just squeezing their noses. I desperately wished I could just squeeze my nose, disappear from all the mad traffic and magically appear at Kiki’s school

Heaving an exasperated sigh, I looked out the window to see a gala hawker briskly selling to hungry commuters. The guy was handling his business like a pro and a huge grin was on his face. He was obviously happy to be making sales. His mood was the complete opposite of mine. He was in no hurry to rush off to attend to any pressing business. As a matter of fact, that traffic jam was his office. It didn’t matter that there was no fancy mahogany desk in sight, he was earning his daily bread right there and then.

A single word came to my mind. PERSPECTIVE

Here I was cursing the traffic but the guy was blessing it. I was fervently praying that the traffic jam would ease up but the guy was hoping it lingers. See? Perspective…

This made me think of how many opportunities I may have unknowingly overlooked all because they came wrapped up in challenges and difficulties. Sometimes, when faced with challenges, our first reaction may be resistance because let’s be truthful, nobody likes stress, nobody enjoys difficulties. So it’s natural to back up a wall when faced with same.

I don’t know if it would have been possible to view the menacing traffic in a cheerier light… maybe, maybe not… but what I do know is that most times situations that present themselves to us usually come bearing options and most times we choose unconsciously, more like unthinkingly… There are usually different perspectives to situations…

Ha… there’s that word again… PERSPECTIVE… let’s break it down, shall we? *switches windows to consult Google*… Aha! Perspective means a mental view or outlook, i.e. a way of perceiving or looking at a situation.

What does this tell me?

It tells me that I have the power to choose the way I wish to view situations. I have the power to choose how to see or regard any circumstance I encounter in life. If a perspective is not working for me, if it threatens to drown me in fear and negativity, I have the power to change my perspective and thus swim and float on positivity and possibilities…

So at work, when assigned a task you have zero experience in, instead of embracing the perspective of impossibility why don’t you open up a world of possibilities by viewing the task as one that can add a feather to your career cap?

So you grew up in a dysfunctional home? Your parents’ marriage was not the best model for you and it marred your views on marriages which is perfectly understandable. But the fact remains that great marriages do and still exist. Instead of holding on to your marred perspective, why not learn from your parents’ bad marriage…learn how to have a bad marriage…learn what to NOT do if you want a good marriage. Sounds simplistic? Well, I believe it’s really that simple if you change your perspective.

I believe the way we view situations and life in general determines our thoughts. Our thoughts then determine our actions and behaviours. Our actions and behaviours then cumulate and produce our habits which then produce our successes or failures.

Here’s hoping we choose wisely…

But first of all, let me know your perspective on this post 🙂