A little while ago, just before finishing a huge project for a client, I was feeling particularly stressed. Agitated, really. Restless. Maybe a bit exhausted. I also felt ungrateful, because I didn't really have anything to complain about. After all, I worked from home and only wore actual pants when I left the house (which was not very often). One day, while having lunch with my husband, he said something that made me snap -- I can't even remember what it was, but I'm sure it did not take a lot to set me off. It went something like this:
"You know, it must be nice to be able to just go to work. This is what your day looks like: You get up in the morning, check Facebook, get ready for work and then you leave. You come home for lunch, go back to work -- while you're at work you just work -- and when you're done you come home for dinner. That's pretty much it.
Want to know what my day looks like? Glad you asked -- it goes something like this:
I get up, check social media (that's strictly business, you know -- ahem), get ready, deal with the dog, clean up the kitchen, run whatever errands need to be done, work, deal with the kids and their homeschooling, start making dinner, work... Catch the drift? I can never just sit down and work for the whole day -- even though I have a full-time workload every day."
You know what my husband said?
He said: "Good for you! It's great that you have so much diversity in your day. That never gets boring, does it? You get exercise, get to spend time with the kids, relax with the dog and make money. Sounds pretty awesome to me."
As soon as I was done picking my jaw off the ground, I thought about it -- my husband just gave me a lesson in perspective, in the best possible way. Rather than telling me how ungrateful I am (I quickly got that feeling myself) and that I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing (pj pants most of the time), he told me about all the awesome things in my life. And he was right -- I was doing exactly what I want -- being my own boss, working my dream job.
Here's the thing: Perspective brings it all together. When you feel like you've hit a brick wall and there is nowhere to go? Switching perspective will show you a way, because there is always another way. You can apply this to every single situation, and most of the time? There's even something awesome to be discovered.
Consider this: Your situation is a picture you took, and perspective is a filter you put on it. There are many different filters (perspectives), and each of them makes the picture look completely different. Pick a picture, filter, repeat -- it gets easier with practice and before you know it you'll be switching perspectives like a champ. There is always something awesome to be discovered.
It really didn't take much for my husband to show me the awesome, and I am choosing to embrace it. How about you?
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