A New Perspective: Widen your Lens

written by Emma Bartley

“The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.” -Chris Pine

Have you ever had a situation that seemed like the end of the world when it is happening, but when you look back at it after some time has passed, it didn’t really matter? For me, personally, this happens almost every time something goes wrong. I always look back and realize that I overreacted and it wasn’t as big of a deal as I felt it was.

If we were to take the time to look at things from a new perspective, it would remove the bad feelings that we have. So I challenge you to widen your lens; instead of focusing on the here and now, take some time to look at the situation from a week ahead, a year ahead, even a decade ahead. Will it really matter? And how can the bad situation help you to grow as a person?

It’s also important to look at your life in comparison to others and count your blessings. Maybe you got a bad grade on a test, and you are super upset. Instead of pouting and thinking about everything that went wrong, widen your lens. What a blessing that you go to a school that challenges you to be the best student you can!

“Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it.” -Irving Berlin

When something bad happens, do not stay stuck in the sadness and anger, but instead channel that energy towards doing better next time. Again, if you were to fail a test, instead of blaming the teacher or talking about how you had no time to study, think about how you can change your method of studying for the next time so you can do better!

“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and adore.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

By looking at your life from a new perspective, you can see how blessed you are to live the life you do. Your life can be completely altered by the way you look at things. Don’t get stuck in sadness and anger…just widen your lens.