The power of our perspective is one of superheroes. Perspective gives us the power to either shape a situation into a possibility for something different or to define it as an insurmountable problem. The truth is that the world will inevitably throw obstacles in our path, and we will all be challenged in life, It is part of life that cannot be avoided, however, the obstacles are not the problem, it’s how you perceive these obstacles that make it a problem or not. How you respond has a profound effect on the quality of your life. Whether or not you rise above adversity or fall in a heap under the weight of it has huge implications. For example, take two separate individuals; one views challenges and problems as an opportunity to problem solve and quickly becomes resilient in looking for what’s possible and will therefore find alternatives for resolution. The other person becomes overwhelmed with a view solely fixated on the problem itself and will tend to look for all the reasons why it’s a problem and will find more and more evidence to support their theories. These two people, although having the exact same situation in front of them, will have extremely different realities. This reminds me of a Henry Ford quote “ Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
When you make a decision your brain will look for evidence to support that, even to your detriment. Your perception determines so much of your reality, including success and failure. I don’t think anyone wants to fail however I do believe that people have not considered just how much they set themselves up for failure based on the decisions that they make and how they choose to perceive situations. There is something in the human brain called the Reticular Activation System which filters certain information only letting in the information that is important to you. We cannot possibly attend to every bit of information that we are exposed to as there are billions of bits of information, so the RAS filters out what we don’t need and lets in what we do. The RAS helps you see what you want to see and in doing so it influences your actions, It filters the world through your beliefs. If you believe that you are not good at public speaking then you probably won’t be because your RAS will filter in information to support that belief. The law of manifestation then has some scientific qualities to it because if you set your mind on something consistently then you will start to see opportunities of how to make something happen.
Always ask yourself what is the best response I can give with what I have and stay laser-focused on that. We all have limitations of some description however it really comes down to what you choose to focus on because the reality is that we are what we most often think. Your future is largely determined by what you do in the present moments of your life. If you find yourself thinking negatively and focusing on everything you don’t want then you will just get more of that and if you focus on what could go right and all the possibilities then you are likely to get more of that. The question then becomes what do you want in your life? And then it’s a simple equation, take the action required to be who you need to be to get the life you want for yourself. Everything you have ever achieved in your life came through your actions. The life you want for yourself will not come to you because you deserve it, it will come to you because you do what it takes to get there.
Start to restructure the way you think about things, stop looking for the fear and the failure and the threat and turn your attention toward what you can do. The more consistently you apply this, the more effortless it will be. Set up strategies that are achievable and break them down into bite-size pieces so that you are not overwhelmed by monumental tasks. Empower yourself to navigate whatever the world throws at you effectively.
Life is dynamic, it is ever-changing and the people who get stuck are the ones who resist change. Ultimately in all situations, we are aiming for resilience and flexibility. Perhaps it’s time that you challenge some of your beliefs, go on, and have a play with it. Remember that your RAS is always working for you, just make sure it’s to your benefit and not your detriment. Be mindful of the decisions you make because those decisions with the RAS at its helm are your superpower.
“Change the way you look at thing and the thing you look at change”
Dr. Wayne Dyer