It's all a matter of perspective

Many years ago when I was a senior in college, I had to prepare for my senior recital. As a music education major, my senior recital was a requirement for graduation. There were many requirements that had to be met in my recital. It had to be a certain length of time with a certain number of songs. Some of the songs had to be memorized. Needless to say, it was a big deal and there was a lot riding on the successful completion of the recital - mainly, my graduation.

I remember my piano teacher giving me this advice one time when she saw how anxious and stressed I was about my recital. She told me that the human body produces the same chemical - adrenaline - when we are nervous and when we are excited. How we choose to look at it is a matter of perspective. "You can choose to be nervous or you can choose to be excited. Which are you going to choose?"

I think that advice applies to a lot of situations in life. How we choose to look at something determines whether or not it's going to be a pleasurable experience or a miserable one. Unfortunately, I think most people navigate toward the miserable experience. I wonder why we willingly choose to be negative rather than positive.

It seems like I've been surrounded by a lot of change in my life lately. Mention the word change around some people and they immediately stick their fingers in the ears and start repeating, "I'm not listening! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" Some people don't like change and they will do everything in their power to keep a situation the same - automatically choosing to view the change as negative rather than be excited for the possibilities it can bring.

It's funny how, even when a change is for the best, people still rebel against it. Why are we so sure that a change is going to be a bad thing? Why is it hard for us to look at new possibilities? What if by doing something differently, we do it better? What if by embracing change we find something wonderful?

Changes in life are going to occur no matter what we do to try and stop them. Why make them worse by fighting them so much? Try to find the exciting and new possibilities a change brings with it! You might discover hidden blessings!

Amy