Recently the topic of perspective has come up & it’s really got me thinking.
All the years that I’ve had various goals the people around me have had a comment. Here’s a few to give you examples…
Bringing food with me to eat: “Gosh, I feel so fat around you.”
When making a healthy dessert option: “We should’ve known you’d make something healthy. Next time you’re bringing the salad.” (They loved the dessert, by the way! Ha.)
Giving them a heads up about my goals before I visit: “Ugh, are you ever NOT dieting?”
This hasn’t only happened with fitness related goals though. These were common too…
When I was avoiding alcohol: “come on, 1 drink isn’t going to hurt. It’s not like you have to get drunk.”
When I was (or do) work LONG hours: “You need a break. Doesn’t your work offer vacation or sick days?” (Umm, I am my work, lol)
When working through forgiveness: “At what point do you give up & move on? ____ isn’t going to change.” (Just for the record, we’re moving into our 8th year of marriage & I can’t say enough about how grateful I am that neither of gave up when it was tough & painful.)
Don’t get me wrong, these people love me & didn’t mean to be negative!! Looking back, I’m glad they made their comments because it reminded me that what I was doing wasn’t “easy”. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. At times, I might’ve needed the reminder to chill out, but typically the peanut gallery starts giving their two cents when they are consciously or subconsciously recognizing what they’re not doing!
This can also be flip-flopped when we need to adopt a loved one’s perspective, but this post is intended to bring to light the importance of our perspective as it relates to staying committed to our goals. If I allowed those comments (and the ones I was telling myself that didn’t sound much different) to become my reality I guarantee I wouldn’t have accomplished what I have physically, relationally & professionally. Change your perspective and your experience changes.
This all comes down to my mindset. I can’t slip into that “I can’t ___” or “I’m missing out on life….” because when we do that to ourselves it totally gets us in a rut.
For example, when I’m in contest prep, I’m doing it because I want to. (Haha, I wish the word “I” was longer so the bold underline was more impactful.) Anyway, no one is making me and when others start that crap about my “sacrifice” I have to remind myself of MY choices. It keeps me strong and positive when the work gets tough. When I look back at what that type of self-control and mindset can help me achieve I truly feel invincible. Not because of my body or how it looks, but because I know how hard it is to remain so focused on my goal for the right reasons. I find that this has totally carried over to my work ethic.
The bottom line is this: I often need to refocus and adjust my perspective.
Do you?
Life is never going to be perfect this side of heaven. Never! If you are waiting for every problem to be solved, every circumstance to be just right, every issue to be resolved, before you commit to a goal you are in for a long wait.
Set aside your comfort.
Forfeit your convenience.
Action:
When you face a difficult situation, where do you first turn for help?
What is your attitude about those difficult situations in your life?
How does that attitude need to change?
We would love to hear your thoughts, but even if you don’t want to share publicly, get out paper or your phone and take some notes about yourself, your goals and what might be holding you back!!
