Your Perception…..

A favorite oil painting I recently purchased.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good Labor Day to you!

My weekend was relaxing and enjoyable…albeit productive.

I hope you had time to relax, rest, and restore.

Today, I want to jot down a few written thoughts and send your way – to begin our week on a positive note.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.”

—-Stephen R. Covey.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:  Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I mentioned before, I treat the month of September like a New Year.  A time for change and rebalancing and getting back to center.

Just like January 1st, I make new resolutions and write down a fresh list of goals.

It’s refreshing to hit an end-of-the-year restart button for the last four months of the year.  Don’t you think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I make permanent residency in my middle ages, I have come to the unsettling realization that many circumstances and happenings that I understood to be absolutely and positively a certain way….were nothing more than gross miscalculations.  In reality, the events were clouded by my perceptions and colored by my prospective during that time in my life.

Here’s my challenge to you (and me) during this renewal month of September…

Change the angle of your perception with a positive slant.  Be open to viewing the events of your days using a new lens of optimism.

How do you accomplish this?

It’s not easy.  Believe me.  I am still trying desperately to master my own advice.

Each time I am faced with a dilemma, an un-fun task / duty, or a bad situation, I am now viewing the event with a veil of gratitude and thanksgiving.

As unnatural as this sounds, it has allowed me to see people and problems in a completely new light.

Not only will this small change translate into big rewards, you may find your days filled with less stress and much more peace and happiness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that original oil painting?  It sits on my desk!  It’s miniature art.

When I first viewed this picture online, I could not grasp why the price was so low.  It just didn’t make sense.

My perception was clouded by a prenotion that this painting was wall-sized.

This is a tiny example of how we all need to open our minds and disregard preconceptions.