Perspective is Everything By: Mark P. Steinberg, SteinbergPresentations.com
In terms of how we view our lives and the world, it’s almost impossible for a person to live a positive life if they have a negative frame of mind. One of the big ways that people get trapped into negative ways of thinking has to do with the timing orientation they take when they consider their lives. Many people unfortu- nately get trapped in the past, and they spend way too much time regretting it, thinking about the way they could’ve done things differently, and thinking about things that went wrong that could’ve gone right. The fact is there’s nothing we can do about the past… hope- fully we learn from it, hopefully we are better because of it, but we cannot change it.
is far better on so many levels to be someone who plans for possibilities, as opposed to aimlessly fearing them.
Steinberg, Perspective
Be a planner, NOT a worrier. Worriers use “what if thinking.” Planners use “if then thinking.” If A hap- pens then I’ll do B. If C happens then I’ll do D, and so on. It is much better to be a planner, it is much worse to be a worrier. So, don’t focus too much on worrying about the future, don’t spend your time regretting the past, so what does that leave for us? It leaves us the opportunity to live in the present… embracing the present moment… living in the “now,” controlling what we can and accepting what rience the world positively. Therefore, if you can live your life with the belief that everything happens for a reason, and that at every moment you are exactly where you need to be, and that even seemingly difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations, you will fill your life with tremendous, unimagined beauty and peace and joy. If you can believe that there is a meaning and purpose for everything that occurs, you won’t be stressed ever again, because no matter what happens you’ll believe there’s a reason it’s happening. Always remember: the deeper the valley, the greater the view from the mountaintop. Try to live your life with positivity; and remember that when you change per- spective, everything about the way you experience your life also changes. we can’t. It gives us the life-enhancing op- portunity to approach and view things with a positive frame of mind. When you view the world positively, you will dramatically influence your ability to expe-
So, to spend inordinate amount of time in the past – especially bathed in regret – is not beneficial. It doesn’t help us now; it doesn’t help us moving into the future. Learn from whatever happened, especially if it was a failure you experienced, be better because of it, but don’t get trapped in regret. Another way that people get trapped that has to do with the timing perspective they take on their life is that many people wind up
worrying tremendously about the future, and they use what is often referred to as “what if thinking.” What if that happens, what if this happens, oh my gosh what if that happens; and they worry themselves into a frenzy fearing things that may not even materialize. Curiously, 50% of the time the thing you’re worried about does not even occur. If it does happen, 50% of the time it turns out to be not nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be in the first place. And even if it is bad, you’ll have more than enough time to worry about it then, you don’t have to worry about it now. Research has shown that even if an event you are wor- ried about never materializes at all, the fact that you worried about it has virtually the same negative effect on your mind and body as if you had actually experi- enced the feared event. Rather than being a worrier, it
P4 November 202 1 / HOSPITALITY NEWS
Powered by FlippingBook