Today I am sharing an column that will be published next month.
Inventing
Your Life
“Viewpoint”
By
Rob
Claudio
Although
many of us can be very good at calculating how we want things to manifest in
our lives as we grow older, life has a funny way of derailing us at times when
our best laid plans sometimes end up being just that. I am sure that many of us can offer our own
best advice to others as to how we would handle a problem or issue differently,
now that we have the experience behind us.
I think of the movie Groundhog Day and how Bill Murray got the chance to
do things differently every morning that he kept waking up on the same day,
yet, he persisted on committing some of the same errors day-in and day-out
without correcting some of his ways. I
know that we would be baffled if we had our own Groundhog Day to deal with,
however, I would also hope that we would make better decisions when presented
with circumstances that we had seen previously.
Remember that our life experiences can prove to be our best ammunition
at handling any particular situation. Whether
it is a person or a circumstance that just stumps you with what to do next, one
of the best ways to deal with that is first and foremost to change your own
perspective. This usually ends up
meaning that we are the ones that ultimately have to change and not the other
way around. I know that it is ironic to
think this way, since we don’t usually think of ourselves as the one with the
problem or issue. Remember that perspective
and having a different view, can change the entire dynamics of anything in a
heart-beat. Perhaps you find yourself in
a situation where you believe that you have exhausted all possibilities and see
no immediate relief in sight. Well think
about the fact that as each day passes, if there is no hope that accompanies
that situation, it can ultimately leave you feeling as if you are sinking and
not moving forward. Hope is so important
because it can provide you with the strength you need to carry on and it also
helps you with vision towards the day when things can actually change for the
better. I know that many of us can think
of someone we know or have come across where we could see that hope was not
evident in their view of things and that particular look on someone’s face can
make a lasting impression on anyone. In
my own experience, I have learned that those who are closest to us tend to not
take any advice from us, because of the proximity of our relationship which
adds to the issue. I can remember when I
gave some repeated words of advice to a family member and it would go in one
ear and out the other. Fast forward to
many years later and I come to find out that they listened to those same words that
came from someone else, that was not related or particularly close to them. Ultimately, they also gave credit for their
resolution to that other individual and you then wonder about the selective
memory that they now have. Does this
sound familiar? I know it is one of
those interesting moments that we all experience at some point in our
lives. Hence our best work is usually
accomplished through our impact with others and interestingly not directly in
our own immediate families or inner circle.
In fact, your view of things can be altered, unclear or even unknown at
any given time. What matters is that you
do not give up on what you want to see as the ultimate result in your
life. One must keep reaching for their
goals and it is also important to keep dreaming, as life would be quite boring
without either. Although we may not be
quite sure of when things can take a turn for the better, it is very important
to remember that at some point they will and it can happen as quickly as
changing your mind and viewpoint. The
combination of hope plus goals and dreams, can provide for the right
perspective of things to come, as long as you realize that it can only occur
with your permission.
“There are things I can't force. I must
adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my
viewpoint.”
-Denis Diderot
