When You Change The Way You Look At Things,
The Things You Look At Change
When I heard Wayne Dyer make that statement, it had a profound effect on my life. And it was not just that statement, for there were many more to follow. Wayne Dyer is often in my headphones. He is my walking buddy, my voice of reason, my teacher, my spiritual advisor. I connected with his outlook and his message and I honor him today by continuing to implement and share what he taught me.
You have the power to choose the way you perceive things that happen in your life. What you choose to see will not only shape, but co-create, your reality. Think about that for a moment. You really can co-create your life by how you choose to look at things.
Let me give you an example that I have actually used to test this concept. It's one that you can immediately put to the test yourself because you likely face it every day.
Someone cuts you off in traffic. Our natural response is to take offense. We blast the horn, we may raise a certain finger and we may even yell a few expletives. We are mad and upset about their actions. Our disposition changes and we can carry that forward into our day.
Now let's change our perception of the situation.
Someone cuts you off in traffic and you simply think to yourself, "boy they must be in a hurry, I hope they have a better day." There is no anger, your heart rate doesn't go up and your disposition hasn't changed because you actively chose to have a neutral to positive response to a negative stimulus.
The secret to co-creating your reality
lies in that space between stimulus and response
How you choose to respond (and you do have a choice) transforms your reality and your life.
Now let's put this idea to the test on a more complicated and personally devastating situation.
You lost your job or were downsized. You're natural response is fear, anger, sadness and shame. You start saying to yourself, I feel like a loser. You carry this disposition into your life. Pretty crappy reality right?
In this example your perception change may take a bit of time. You have to grieve the loss, but at some point you decide that your sick of living in that reality. It's time to actively change your perception.
You lost your job or were downsized. You accept the fact that it didn't feel good, however, what skills did you learn at your job that you are thankful for? Were there parts of your job that you hated or days that you had to drag yourself in? Could this job loss create a space for new possibilities? Your response is now, "Wow I have an opportunity to find something even better, thank you."
Do you see how changing your perception can positively impact your day or your life?
What a gift this is. Thank you, Dr. Wayne Dyer for teaching us how to co-create a better reality for ourselves.
Let's all share the lessons that Dr. Dyer taught us. Share this on Facebook, Twitter or simply forward it to a friend. Be the change you want to see in the world.
This article originally appeared on resiliencecafe.com
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