Perspective--

An 11-letter word describing one’s point of view on people, places, objects, thoughts, situations (basically anything).

I'd specifically like to focus on people’s perspectives of the situations they encounter--the day to day problems they experience and how they deal with them. Have you ever gotten mad over the silliest thing? Sure, it didn’t seem stupid in the moment, but once you took a step back and looked at the situation, you probably realized how ridiculous you were being.

I’ll be the first to admit I get pissed off over the dumbest things. I throw a fit more often than I should, and let the most irrelevant things bother me. The perfect example would be all of the times I catch my younger sister wearing one of my shirts. She never asks for permission, so of course my initial reaction is to get ticked off. I’ll yell, she’ll apologize and the cycle will repeat itself the next week. It’s annoying and I feel disrespected, but is this issue really something to waste energy on?

When life seems to suck and you feel like it can’t get any worse, you have two options: let it affect you or move on unbothered. Overreacting, screaming, crying, saying things in that heated moment that you do not mean – that’s letting the problem affect you. Changing your perspective, accepting that there are worse situations you could be in, that you’re lucky to just be alive, and that things are going to get better – that’s moving on unbothered.

I’ve found that comparing your situations to the lives of others really helps to put things into a clear and reasonable perspective. Now, when my sister borrows my clothes without permission I take a step back and shift my perspective. I realize how lucky I am to even own that many clothes. Kids in third world countries barely have enough to cover them. There are homeless people without coats struggling to keep warm on frigid winter nights. And I’m upset that my sister borrowed my faded, old tanktop I bought three years ago?

I am so blessed and fortunate to have the life that I do and these minor setbacks that I complain about are NOT worth getting upset over. Life will go on, the sun will rise the next day and I will continue breathing. Your perspective can change an awful day to a good day. We shouldn’t stress about such silly things. Find your new perspective and let it take you wonderful places.

Always remember:

“You don’t have control over your situation, but you have a choice about how you view it.”

And that can make all the difference.