Life: In Perspective

For most struggling entrepreneurs, dreamers, students and 9-5’ers, life can often become a repetitive series of 24-hour cries for sanity and relief.  Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and your entire existence turns into a gradual walk down a meaningless road of defeat.  

Individuals who are taking flight are all around you.  They have new cars, careers and condos; they’re falling in love and building families.  And you’re just a spectator, itching to get in the game.   
   
Or wait… has that just been my experience in life? If so, allow me to share how I managed to at least encourage myself when I began to feel at an all-time low over the past couple of months.  

Simply, I added to my life, perspective. I allowed myself to step outside of my box of misery and frustration to see life in full-circle.

Honestly, a big part of this was looking around and noticing what was going wrong with other people in the world to add a balance to my own.  A lot of times it seemed as if I was the only one in a dismal daze.  Although I was constantly trying to make progress, nothing seemed to be flourishing for me.  

But this is only because I was not measuring myself on a level playing field. The world is so much bigger than me.  The struggle is real for some people.  It’s life threatening.  It’s suicidal.  And as low as I may get, I’m not ready to take myself out.

Putting things into perspective and opening my eyes to how much worst it could be, made me:

Grateful for everything that I have. Acknowledging all of the things that I have access to instantly brightened up my life.  Although I can’t dine at nice restaurants three times a day like I want to, I am not starving.  I can come home to a refrigerator and pantry overflowing with food, every day.  Although my friends and family may not be there every second that I want them, I know that they will always be there for support, encouragement and great times when I need them most. 

Realize how far I’ve come.  I may not be where I want to be, but I can say that the experiences I’ve had in life have allowed me to grow in ways that I could never be more appreciative.  I am spiritually centered.  I am emotionally stable.  I am confident.  These may seem like average feats, but years ago, I was all over the place.  But through personal growth and the influence of positive people around me, I am a more grounded person, even when my life seems a mess.

Plan for my future. Once I began to acknowledge what I have and the work it took me to get there, I was ready to make strides toward continuing my growth--to pursue my dreams. Overcoming any binding situation takes planning and preparation.  And most importantly, it takes time. Sometimes our timetables may be a little off; we want things sooner than we need them.  But if we travel with steady persistence, all of our planning will pay off.

Hopeful, again.  When you’re a child, opportunities are endless. If you get good grades, respect your elders and stay out of trouble, you’re led to believe that you can be whomever you choose in life.  While this road to success may not be as smooth for everyone, I believe it is still a childhood necessity.  The damage occurs when this youthful lust for life seems to leave us as adults.  The stresses of school, work and social lives strip us of our desire to hope.  But if we have nothing to hope for, what will come to fruition for us?

The great thing about life is as long as you’re alive, you have the power to change your decisions, your attitude and your destiny. In order to do this for me, I had to pick up my life by its bootstraps and slap some perspective into it.  What a refreshing way to claim what’s mine!

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