In my life and in my work, I pay attention to many things that define us as humans - our affect, our posture, our language, just to name a few. But, the global component, the "core" of what we think, feel and do, is influenced by our perspective.
When I can afford (both time and money) to return to school for my doctorate, I would choose perspective, resiliency or addiction as the subject of my dissertation.
The million dollar question is, "Why does one choose a negative perspective?"
There was a man, "James" who travelled across the Golden Gate Bridge frequently for business. Through his many travels, he managed to get friendly with a few of the toll workers. "Pete" was always smiling, greeting people, standing tall, and wishing people a good day. "Nate" was usually laconic or frowning, slouched in his stool, rarely looking up at his customers. On a good day, he'd shrug his shoulders or faintly grin when greeted or spoken to.
James was fascinated at the dichotomy, so he took the liberty to ask Pete and Nate about their jobs.
James was eastbound and chose lane 9, Pete's usual place. James greeted Pete and said, "So, Pete, tell me about what you do here?" Pete looked at James, smiled broadly and said, "Every day, I get to say hello to hundreds of people, some familiar and some brand new. I learn about why they're coming to San Francisco and what they like or dislike about it. The absolute best part of my job is that I have one of the most majestic views in the whole world right in front of me."
The next day, James pulled into lane 6, Nate's regular spot, and pulled forward to pay his fare. James posed the same question to Nate as he had to Pete the day prior. Nate sat back on his stool, put his hand on his chin and replied, " for the past 10 years, I've inhaled auto exhaust, dealt with rude drivers, made small talk and hurriedly handed out change to thousands of strangers, while stuck inside a box that's four feet across, four feet wide and eight feet tall."
A tollworker's job description and the duties attributed to it would be the same for Pete, Nate or any other employee. It's not hard to decipher which one enjoys what he does, or who may enjoy their lives more, based on their replies.
What's strikingly sad about Nate's story is that many people process external stimuli and information and then filter it from a negative (pessimistic) worldview. They then think, feel and act accordingly.
Pete, like all human beings, takes in stimuli from around him, processes it, filters it and then thinks, feels and acts according to his worldview.
It's the SAME process.
The point I'm trying to make is that we CHOOSE how to evaluate what occurs in our lives.
Not only can we re-train ourselves to shift from negative to positive, here and now but we can actually re-create how we perceive what's happened to us in the past.
We can't change the events, but we most certainly can alter how we interpret those events.
If you've seen "What the Bleep Do We Know" (http://whatthebleep.com), you may remember the line one of the physicists made - "we CREATE our day".
Days are a measure of time, 24 hours. The value placed on the days of our lives are placed by us, by our perspective.
So, what's your perspective?
K-
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