A few years ago someone opened their door into my car and made a dent about the size of a dime.
It drove me nuts.
Then one day I decided to see the dent an endearing dimple.
Was it effective though? 100%. I think itâs hilarious whenever I see the âdimpleâ now.
The point: how you experience the world is determined in part by the stories you tell yourself about events have happened.
Part of getting the most joy out of your life, your career, and your relationships is recognizing that every situation has multiple perspectives and that, with training, can learn to adopt the perspectives that empower you to be resilient & to become the best possible version of yourself.
It drove me nuts.
Then one day I decided to see the dent an endearing dimple.
It hasnât bothered me since.
Was that a strange perspective to adopt? Sure.
Was it effective though? 100%. I think itâs hilarious whenever I see the âdimpleâ now.
The point: how you experience the world is determined in part by the stories you tell yourself about events have happened.
My silly car example aside, consider that an honest error can be seen as a a colossal failure to be ashamed about or as a great opportunity to learn.
A job with new responsibilities can be seen as a daunting ordeal or as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Part of getting the most joy out of your life, your career, and your relationships is recognizing that every situation has multiple perspectives and that, with training, can learn to adopt the perspectives that empower you to be resilient & to become the best possible version of yourself.
Speaking about the car though, there's a book by a guy who was a VR pioneer but died of cancer, it's called 'The Last Lecture'. It's essentially about all he wanted to say, as a professor, but also as a father, knowing he was dying but also with the opportunity to leave some wisdom behind.
He talks about how his wife came home one day with a dent in the car, and she expected that he'd get angry. Instead he said, "in this family we value people, not things" and not only he let it go at that, he never even thought it was worth paying money to fix the dent.
It's just like you say, perspective. Somebody else might have flipped out, a dent in the car is a disaster. But then again, maybe it just isn't.
@Keni - I agree that it takes deliberate effort. Though with time I would hope/imagine that it becomes easier to let go of trivial things.