Improving Your Outlook in Life
Ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? The alarm doesn’t go off, your toast gets burned or you spill your coffee, it begins to rain, there’s a lot of traffic, and on and on. Problems seem to build on each other leading to a even bigger problems down the road.
Stop and notice the impact that this sequence of problems has on your mental state. If you’re not careful, the first problem will tend to push you into a negative mental state where you start to expect problems – and life obliges by feeding you the next problem, then the next, and the next. In other words, if you get into a mental state where you’re looking for problems, you’ll certainly find them.
How do you change this “problem-negative expectation-more problem” loop? By deciding to change your perspective when that first problem pops up.
Changing your perspective means looking for the “silver lining” in any problem that hits you. Ask yourself, “What’s the good in this problem?” or “Where is the opportunity to learn something?” instead of immediately thinking something like, “Great! This ALWAYS happens to me!” Do you see the difference in perspective? One puts you into a mental state where you’re looking for opportunities while the other puts you into a state where you’re looking for (and expecting) more problems.
One thing I know to be true 100% of the time: whether you’re looking for “silver linings” or whether you’re looking for more problems, you’re always going to find what you’re looking for.
Improve your outlook in life by making sure that you’re looking for the right things!
Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy
Technorati Tags: balanced health, attitude, perspective, mental state
Related Reading:
The Four Factors: Should You Stay, Go or Improve Your Relationship?Are you wondering if you're with the right person? Having trouble letting go of a past relationship? Confused whether to stay or go? If your answer ... Read More >
Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your RelationshipDrawing on case studies, a psychotherapist offers guidelines to help singles and spouses decide whether to leave a relationship or whether enough good remains to make it worth working through conflicts. Reprint."
Mexican Everyday (Recipes Featured on Season 4 of the PBS-TV series "Mexico One Plate at a Time")At last, a cookbook that brings Mexican food within easy reach: named to Food & Wine Magazine’s Year’s 25 Best Cookbooks as part of its annual... Read More >
TIP: If you enjoyed this post, please rate it below or leave a comment. You can be notified of new content by subscribing to our Related posts:
I totally agree. you always get wht you look for. happens to me all the time!
bette
You get what you focus on – no big news there. How about some ideas on how to change your focus on a consistent basis?
Richard