If there are no ups & downs in your life, it means you are dead.
-Anonymous
Source: Google Images http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/argus456/argus4560804/argus456080400631/2801962-heart-beat-on-hospital-monitor.jpg
PERSPECTIVE
Life is all about perspective. Is your glass half empty or half full? When you hit a huge "roadblock" in life, do you want to just lay down and give up, or do you realize it can only go up from here, and any movement is better than none at all?
Perspective can be a hard thing to get a full grasp on sometimes. Heck, it's a hard word to really understand clearly! A trick I use when I'm having a hard time getting a real comprehension of a situation is to think about what word I would use to describe it or how to get out of it unscathed, and then look up the definition and synonyms associated.
Sound weird and not very useful to you? Skeptic?
Take this quote for example. When I read it, it took me to a dark place in my life where I was frustrated and thought every time life gets better, it gets worse again. I would work really hard to get to the top and right as great fortune came my way, something happened (through my own poor actions, bad luck, twist of fate, or whatever) that brought me plummeting back down. Must I be stuck on this constant roller coaster?
Turns out I needed time and a little perspective. Now that I've been through something like that, perspective is the first word I automatically associate with the quote. Since this event to which I've been vaguely referring, I also started working in healthcare which in itself has really given me a different way of viewing everything! You'll definitely take nothing for granted when a child comes into the ER and dies of fatal car wounds...makes your missed credit card payment seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
Back to the example, I looked up perspective on thesauras.com (found at link provided here) and was amazed at what was listed. When perspective's definition was "view or outlook" some of the synonyms were "attitude, frame of reference, mindset, and relative importance." All those terms are relevant and show more light into the situation telling me what I need to do to get out it. Thinking about changing my perspective seems tedious, like I have to change a part of me, my character in essence; but a change in attitude by really focusing my mindset on what's really important seems much easier to me and therefore more likely to get done.
When perspective's definition was "element to consider" some of the synonyms were "situation, phase, and outlook. These are all good words that can be applied. Finally, when perspective's definition was "mental outlook" some synonyms were "air, angle, belief, bias, demeanor, mood, reaction, sensibility, temperament, and where one is at."
Hopefully by now, you can see that word association is a great and creative way to really get a full perspective on a situation, which to me is the best way to start understanding your circumstances and changing them for the better!
Other ideas & thoughts on what the quote means or how to deal with tough situations? Please share!
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