When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
—Max Planck
The way we look at things tends to define how they appear to us in our reality. The most used example of this is looking at a glass half full or half empty. Usually it is a way to create a distinction between the perception of those who are optimistic vs those who are pessimistic. The problem with this example is that it is emotionally neutral and so we can clearly understand how people can see it either or.
Emotions change the entire meaning of perspective. When we perceive situations in our life that we cloud with emotions it becomes very hard to see a clear objective picture like in our glass half empty half full example. Emotions introduce a sense of rigidity in our thought patterns and even the meanings we make behind the events in our life.
In this way our emotional foundations are what assigns positivity or negativity to a circumstance or situation in our lives. For example the way we view challenges; some people can look at a challenge positively as a means of growth through the lens of optimism, hope, gratitude. Take the same challenge, a person can view it negatively as if it were a problem that they need to avoid using the lens of pessimism, fear, shame. I’m sure you can come up with many examples in your own life where you have seen this but an easy example for us to sit with is the idea of public speaking. Just reading those words may have spiked some of your heart rates; positively for some – negatively for others.
Regardless of how we are emotionally tuned to create meanings and stories about the challenges we experience and face, we all have the power to change the effect and outcomes in our lives. The first step requires awareness of our own internal processes; whether it is through self reflection or having someone skilled in reflection shine a light on how your emotions influence your stories which ultimately influence your outcomes.
Once we introduce consciousness into the emotional machinery of our behaviors, thoughts, and actions we can understand the choices we make that lead to where we are in life. Nothing in life is static or fixed, we only believe that because we are unaware of the background programs running in our mind that guide our decisions; for the better or worse. This should be good news to those who want to change where their life is and give some framework on how changing our perception of the events and circumstances in our life can be used to transform our lives for the better.
Dr. Shaikh M.D
Your Ultimate Self 