power of perception

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
 (Dr. Wayne Dyer)

This is good news.

In order to experience something differently, all I have to do is take a look from another angle. Can you say super power?!

When overwhelm, discomfort, anger, sadness, or jealousy strike (or any myriad feelings for that matter), I can step into a new feeling without lifting a finger.

Simple enough, right?
Simple, yes. Easy, not always.

In the midst of heightened emotion, stepping into a new perspective can seem impossible.

Just this week, I slept through my alarm clock. When I finally came to and saw the time, I rushed into the morning with anxiousness. Thrusting myself out of bed, I was well on my way to being in a bad mood. I was seeing red through my haphazard movements around my house, attempting to get out the door as quickly as possible. I was angry at myself for sleeping in and frustrated at the rush I was now in. On top of this, fear of being judged because I might be late for an appointment coursed through me. I was going to have an awful day, I just knew it. This outlook only fed the anger and frustration and frenzy.

Then, tapping my feet at the faucet that wasn’t running fast enough, I paused.

Remembering this quote from teacher and author Wayne Dyer, I stopped and took a breath. A deep one. Closing my eyes, I scanned my body and breathed into the places tight with tension. I went through the checklist to get a gauge on what was actually true it the moment. Yes, I slept in past the alarm clock. Yes, I had an appointment to get to. Would I be late? Maybe. Could I call and give the person a head’s up that I was on my way and might be just ten minutes behind schedule? Absolutely. Was the day doomed to be horrible? Only if I chose to stay in the negative outlook.

Simple shifts in perception calmed me from the inside out and I was able to engage the rest of my day with ease and balance. Taking responsibility for my outlook paid off, as it usually does. I chose to see the truth and squash the dramatics. I slowed down and got grounded. From here, I was able to cut through the negative cycle that had started and step into a more honest and positive perspective. Plus, I felt better!

To see the “positive” streaming through the “negative” takes practice.

Here are a few simple tricks to shift your outlook quickly. Try them out and see how your experience changes:

-          Just breathe. Pausing for even one conscious, deep breath has the capacity to bring you back into the moment. When we are present, we are better able to meet what is in front of us with ease and clarity.

-          Take a break. Sometimes we just need to take a few minutes away from whatever we are doing so that we can come back to it with renewed energy. Walking around the block does wonders for my bouts of writer’s block.

-          Choose to see the gifts. Act as if whatever you are experiencing were happening to someone else. Open your eyes to the gift in perhaps not so pretty wrapping paper, more than likely there are a few.

-          Be grateful. There is always something to be grateful for. Look for reasons to say “thank you” and your outlook with change quickly. Frustrated with a noisy neighbor? Look on the bright side: you have a roof over your head and the ability to hear! (Bonus: When we practice gratitude, more reasons to be grateful show up. Plus, it just feels good!)

Perception is everything. I’m sporting my rose-colored glasses today. How about you?

In the flow,

Darcy