I’m willing to wager that sometimes you get stuck in ruts — ways of doing things, ways of thinking, ways of being — when you’re just stuck on something and no other possibilities seem to exist from your current point-of-view. Ruts aren’t fun, in life or in business, but the truth is, most of us are there from time to time. So let’s talk about perception today.
According to ancient Peruvian healing wisdom, any situation can be perceived and experienced in a variety of ways:
- The literal — What is actually happening, factual observations.
- The emotional — The story and feelings/emotions we wrap around everything.
- The mythic/soul — Life viewed from the soul level: What lessons are you here to learn? Where is the journey of your life taking you? What archetypes are at play in the mythic map of your life?
- The energetic/spirit — All is well at this level. This is the big picture. The Unknowable. The Great Mystery.
By changing the way you perceive a situation, the situation changes.
I notice sometimes that I walk around in my world thinking things “should be” different. Judging what IS. Maybe you do this, too? I have a hunch that we all do, in varying degrees!
- That person should drive faster. Don’t they know I have somewhere to be?
- More people should have opened this email I sent out. Don’t they know that I worked really hard on it?
- I don’t like the wind. It makes me anxious and irritable. Why is it windy again today?
- I should be making more money. More people should be buying my stuff. Why don’t people know that? I’ve worked hard enough!
Expecting someone or something else to change, in order to conform to my idea of the way things should be. How freaking egotistical is that? In Rumi speak: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.”
Changing the way YOU are in a situation is where the magic is:
- That person should drive faster. Don’t they know I have somewhere to be? Oh, maybe this is a reminder that I need to slow down. Maybe this is an opportunity to remember that I have plenty of time, that there’s no reason to rush like I usually do.
- More people should have opened this email I sent out. Don’t they know that I worked really hard on it? Maybe I can be grateful for all the people who DID open my email. How cool is it that people exist in the world who want to read what I have to share?
- I don’t like the wind. It makes me anxious and irritable. Why is it windy again today? Oh, maybe this is a reminder that the weather is not personally out to get me; it just IS. Maybe I can consider what it would feel like to enjoy the wind instead. Or maybe I can dig deeper into what’s actually bothering me when it’s windy outside.
- I should be making more money. More people should be buying my stuff. Why don’t people know that? I’ve worked hard enough! Ohhhh, maybe it’s not about working really hard to bring the payoff, but instead it’s about approaching how I work in a different way. What is it that I’m currently doing that isn’t resonating with the people I want to reach?
Changing yourself and how you view your world is way easier than expecting the world to change around you. Be adaptable. Go with the flow. Accept what IS instead of judging it and thinking it should be some other way. The funny thing is that when we do change the way we perceive our situation, it often magically seems to change anyway! In Rumi speak: “Today I am wise, so I’m changing myself.”
Is something not working in your life or your business? How can you look at it from a different perspective?
Every day— heck, every hour — we can choose to view our lives in some other way than how we usually do. Some days we do, others we don’t. But this Rumi quote helps to remind me that that choice is always there, and I hope it helps you, too!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: How Changing Your Perception Can Change Your Life
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