Everyday we face challenging situations and decisions in our lives, whether it be regarding school, work, family, money or relationships, they create stress in our lives. Changing your negative perspective towards these things can make all the difference. Perception is reality. How we see something becomes the truth in our lives, which sometimes, can be self-limiting. It is like changing the way you view the world. When you change your view of the world, you change how you feel about it.

A simple change in how you look at events and occurrences can greatly change and/or enhance your life. Perspective is all about what you choose to focus on. What you choose to focus on determines how you will feel. If you choose to focus on all the negative things in your life, thats how your life will be. But if you look and realize all the good things, the quality of your life could be so much better. It is not about what happens to you in life, but how you choose to perceive that; what you do and how you think about it. It is not always easy, but it is a process that is worth the time and effort needed to put into it. How you perceive things can mean everything. And you can choose how you perceive these things.

For example, I got to go on a mission trip to Guatemala last year. The whole experience really made me see the beauty in the world. I was in a place that was so poverty stricken and where many families had close to nothing. Yet, these families and children were the happiest people I had ever met. Seeing life from someone else's perspective genuinely changed mine.

After this trip, I was so much more thankful for everything I had. I now looked at things completely differently. Instead of dreading school, I was so thankful and happy that I had the opportunity to go to school and I had the opportunity to do something with my life, whereas so many people aren’t even given this chance. I no longer wanted to complain about being given food at lunch in high school that I simply didn’t like. I was thankful to be able to eat in the first place.

I felt different when I was back home. I found myself getting angry when people would complain about stupid little things. Like that they didn’t get a text back from someone or the food at lunch wasn’t good enough or having to wake up and go to school. I wished that people could realize how good they really have it. The fact that we get to go to school and have food everyday is a huge gift that so many individuals take for granted. My perspective totally flipped around after this. Instead of complaining about all the things that seemed so annoying or troublesome or aggravating, I tried to see the good in them or turn them around to find something good in them. Being able to open up and understand someone else’s perspective is also a great gift. It can help you to grow as a person and realize the vast range of ideas that exist in the world.

Many people tend to only look at the bad aspects in their lives and dwell on failures. But we learn a lot from failure, much more than we ever learn from success. Behind every negative thought or incident that occurs, there is a lesson behind it which can help us grow as a person. Instead of looking at negative things and saying “wow this sucks” or “I hate my life”, look at it as “okay, this is difficult but it will only help me in the future.” Just changing this perspective in your mind can make a huge difference, especially towards your happiness.

Overall, being positive creates a positive outlook on everything. Having this attitude leads to happiness in all areas of your life. A simple change of thought and emotion can greatly affect the outcome of many situations in which you might feel vulnerable. Changing this small aspect in your mind and applying it to yourself can completely change your entire outlook on life. It’s not about the situation you’re in, its about the way you approach it. Once we change our perspective, we realize how powerful it actually is; it can shape our reality.

“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.”

“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.”