Everyone in this world has many different perspectives. These perspectives change or adjust throughout a lifetime. While major life changes can affect our perspectives, I would like to discusss how important it is that we realize we have the power to alter our perspective at anytime, and that doing so can greatly improve our lives.
Adjustments in perspective often come with life changes. One example is the death of a loved one. Dealing with the loss opens our eyese to the uncertainty of life, and makes us appreciate more those around us. Changes in careet, beginnings and endings of relationships, and moving can all cause these types of perspective changes. However, and more importantly I think, these adjustments can be brought on simply by how we look at life. We can control our perspectives, and therefore don't have to wait for life to happen and change things for us.
Everyday we have many choices to make, and many challenges to face. The most important choice we make, and the biggest challenge we face is deciding how to approach the day. We can choose to greet it as a new beginning, optimistic that we can make a difference. Conversely, we can confront it in a pessimistic way, looking for problems we think we will be unable to solve. Changing our perspective is as simple as choosing to be optimistic and hopeful about the day ahead.
I just recently watched a new program called "The Teen Files". One episode in particular helped me become optimistic about peoples ability to change. The episode was about hate among teens. It dealt with racial, sexual, and religious discrimination. Basically the book the teens who had hate toward a group of people different from them, and expose themto that group in order to show them that "different people" are just people too. In every case, the teens who hated endedup respecting and befriending those people whom they harbored hate toward. I cried, realizing that there is a chance for my generation to make a difference in the fight againt discrimiation. The show was all a matter of perspective. The hateful teens were able to realize their perspective needed to be changed, and made a conscious effort to do just that. This adjustment they made offered many positive rewards in their lives.
One positive change that comes from amending our perspectives is an increase in self esteem. I am a fitting example of this. I attended a high school in a small town with people who are very small minded. I always felt that I wasn't a good person, and that I didn't deserve to be happy or to have friends because of the constant ridicule I faced. Last fall, however, I attended my first yera of university. While there, I became friends with more people that I ever imagines possible. I began to discover that not all people are rude, and that many people will like me for just being me. The experience of going to university altered my perspective, and I am a better person for it.
Another postive consequence is improved decision making. When we alter our perspectives, even a little, we open ourselves to different facts about a situation. These facts enable us to make clearer decisions, with a stronger sense of security in the decisions, knowing that we took the time to gain an abundance of information. This security leads back to heightened self esteem. The list of benefits goes on and on.
There are of course negatives ways broader perspectives can affect us. If we choose, seeing light in a brighter light can make us synical and bitter. Of course, taking these aspects into account can combat this, and we can still make a positive change in our lives and help those around us in theirs.
We are always searching for way to make our lives more meaningful. Changing the views we have, our perspectives, is a simple, yet incredibly large, step in the right direction.
