What do you want to be when you grow up? Ask this question to an eight year old and you will receive an answer full of wonder and inspiration. You will hear unbelievable things. Children are full of wonder and hope.
In their beautiful little minds, failure is not is not even a remote possibility. They don’t know how it will happen, but they believe that it will. They have faith that they can do anything. Children have excellent vision.
Our vision becomes clouded and obscured over time. Someone tells us something negative about who we are, and our vision of how we see our “self” gets blurry. People around us tell us we cannot have, do or be whatever we want, because those wonderful things only happen to select people, and so how we view the possibility of achieving our dreams is now out of focus. We are told life is hard; people cannot be trusted, either through the fearful words of others or our own experience. We are told negative things about people of different races, genders, sexual preferences and political or religious views. Now our vision of how we see the world and everyone in it is distorted.
Things happen in life and we develop a sort of spiritual myopia. We walk around with a distorted view of ourselves, the world and others. But vision can be corrected. The great thing about vision is that the thing we are viewing has not changed; only our perception and perspective have. Those of us who wear glasses know this. When I look at a book or an object too far away, my vision is blurry. I cannot make out the words, and sometimes I view words incorrectly. I can make a mistake if I base a decision on the misread words or the incorrect interpretation of the object. When I put on my glasses, however, everything comes into focus. Things are now seen clearly.
There is a story in the Bible of a man who was healed from being blind all his life. When he was first asked what he saw, he said “I see men as trees, walking”. Now the men had not changed at all, they were men, however, his perception of them was off- clearly the men were not trees. Sometimes, the vision in our own lives is just like that.
We incorporate one fearful piece of advice or have a bad experience and start to view everything we see and experience from that point on through that lens. Eric
Butterworth, spiritual teacher and author, states “Our job is not to set things right but to see them right.” And so, in seeing things correctly we start to improve our vision.
How do you view the world? Is it a beautiful place full of amazing things and people? Or is it an awful place we must endure until we are fortunate enough to finally leave? On what things are you focusing?
Are you concentrating and complaining about things and people that are not working in your life or are you concentrating on what is good? Are you looking at what you don’t have, or what the things for which you are grateful?
What’s right with you, the world and life, is just as true and infinitely more powerful that what is wrong. What we believe impacts what we see. We are created by a Power much bigger than us (call it The Creator, God, the Universe or whatever you choose – we won’t argue semantics or religion here) that created us out of love, and wishes good things for us. Just embracing and affirming that one belief can change your entire life. It is the difference between seeing circumstances as horrible events that happen to us, or viewing them as temporary assignments to help us grow. It can change our view of ourselves and our ability to succeed.
Practically, we can do a few things to improve our vision immediately.
Change the way you view yourself.
Make a list of 100 great things about YOU. What do you do well? What do you like about yourself? Of what things or accomplishments are you most proud? Use this list to clear up your vision. Pick a few a day, write them down and tape them up somewhere in a place that you will see them daily. Start to see yourself as successful, worthy and wonderful.
Change the way you view others.
When you are frustrated with someone, no matter what they’ve done, they still have some good qualities. Make a list of great things about others, whether it’s a race of people you’ve been taught to dislike or fear, or a person at work who drives you crazy. Is your boss really creative? Is your sister a great cook? Is a co-worker a great problem solver? You will develop a new appreciation for people that you may not have had before.
Change the way you view life.
Make a gratitude list. Create a list, daily, of everything in your life for which you are thankful. Are you healthy? Do you have really great friends who support you? Maybe it is a garden that provides you with beautiful fresh flowers to look at. No matter what is going on, we always have something to celebrate.
Read inspirational books to help. Sometimes we all need a shift in perspective.
Develop a broader vision for your life.
What DO you want to be when you grow up? Decide to create your life based upon your own vision, not the vision, fears and expectations of others. Explore your dreams, pick one at a time and pursue it with abandon. If you’re having difficulty with this, seek out a coach or consultant to for support and accountability to get it done.
We live in a world full of infinite possibility-we only have to tap into it. You are full of unlimited potential, and the minute you acknowledge and affirm this truth, possibilities will unfold miraculously before you. Once you change our vision, your life will become immediately more exciting, meaningful and joyful. Good begins to find you everywhere you go!
Staci Shelton is a high energy, high impact facilitator and human development expert. She comes with over 10 years experience in training, facilitation, human performance & development, coaching, self -help and self-improvement for individuals and organizations. She will encourage, motivate and inspire you while you work together to reach your goals and dreams!
http://www.evolveconsulting.biz
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