By Dr Rotimi Adelola
As you pursue your life’s purpose, you encounter events and experiences to which you ascribe meaning on the basis of your perception. Such meaning determines your feelings and behaviour in the circumstance . When your perception changes, the dependent emotional response and behaviour change, thereby expanding your capacity for greater freedom, wider possibilities and better choices.
In the words of William Shakespeare, ” there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”.
Your life is defined by the meaning you attach to events and experiences ; and ypur perception is the driving mental process and it is creative. When you perceive a situation in a particular way , the message gets to your brain which produces the corresponding psychological state and behaviour that make the object of perception a reality. If you change your perspective, you change your reality..
Therefore, the key to success in life is to consistently represent your experiences positively to support your goals and aspirations. In this way, you calibrate and empower yourself to achieve great results which will be impossible with a consistently negative perspective.
There are three ( 3 ) ways of representing your daily experiences positively;
a. Have an outcome perspective. Live purposefully and be clear about the outcomes you want to achieve. You must understand fully what is expected of you and be decisive in your actions. Refocus your mind with the following empowering questions: i. what am l trying to achieve ? ii. what resources do l need to achieve my outcomes. iii. what are the impelling and impeding forces ? iv. how do l mitigate the impeding forces and leverage the impelling forces? v.how do l know when l have achieved my desired outcome ? What will l see , hear, feel or experience ?
b. Have a presumptive perspective. You must believe that you have achieved the outcomes you desire to achieve. Act as if your desired goal is already in your possession. This perspective puts you in a frame–of–mind that elevates you above de-limiting beliefs and exposes you to new sensibilities.
c. Have an innovative perspective. Do not switch to the “panic button” when you encounter unexpected “hairy” and intimidating challenges. Do not procrastinate nor ignore the challenges. Rather, focus on the issue , understand it and answer the following questions; i. what is this challenge ? ii. what are the most effective ways of solving it ? iii. where does the solution lie ? iv. what possibilities exist ?
On the whole, there are multiple meanings to every experience you encounter everyday. However, the meaning you ascribe is a function of your focus and what you emphasize. Amid all the negatively–charged experiences, you need to be ultra–positive to win in the post–covid-19 New Normal. That is your only guarantee to transform every experience and event to an entity that empowers rather than de–mobilizes you.
Rotimi Adelola, PhD; DhE
[email protected]
APPLIED POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ACADEMY
psychotechnologyofsuccess.com
