Change the way you see
“What you see is what you get.”
This saying is usually used in a negative sense but when you think about in a different way, at a more positive angle; it turns into something very powerful.
Read it again:
“What you see is what you get.”
“What is so great about that,” you may be asking. Well it’s telling you that the way you perceive something is the reality that you experience.
For instance; say you’re living in poverty. There’s two ways to look at the situation. 1. It’s a living hell. 2. It’s a test of my strength and perseverance.
If you think of it as a living hell, it’s going to turn into such. All you’re going to do is focus on the negative aspects of everything in your life.
Now if you see your poverty as a test of you, then you’re going to find even the toughest of situations positive because they’re teaching you priceless lessons.
“What you see is what you get” can morph into a positive and life changing saying.
You see positive, you get positive.
You see negative, you get negative.
To help you change the way you see your life experiences, here are a few tips:
- Revisit old memories of tough times and focus on the positives you are able to see now that you couldn’t see then.
- Realize it’s not going to be second nature to look at every difficult circumstance in positive light. It’s going to take a lot of time and work.
- Ask yourself questions:
- How am I benefiting from this?
- Will it even matter 2 weeks from now? One month? Six? A year from now?
- Think of those who have it worse. There’s always someone else living through harder times.
Do you remember any experiences that you thought were negative at first but then you changed the way you looked at the situation and realized you benefited greatly from it? Please share in the comments below. We’d love to hear your story.
Photo by DownTown Pictures
4 Responses to “Change the way you see”
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I have learned allot of hard lessons over the years. Many allot harder then anyone else I know.
Most times I look back and realize, I “allowed” things to happen to me.
I trusted people to much when i shouldn’t have and trusted them to much. This has cost me my house, (that was paid for)I had to live in a small boat for a year after that and dig my way out again. I had to find a new job(s), & friends, it ever tore my family apart. I was angry and bitter, then I knew, I had control of my life and attitude. I could learn from it and be happy that I had a boat to live in, my health and some of my family left to talk to.
Ever since I took responsibility for my part, not to say was not victimized in some ways, I was, but I allowed it to happen.
I have been flurishing ever since. I am a much better person, and I learned so many valuable lessons from that whole experience, and I am happy I learned it at such a young age, Now I can make my life happy!
P.S. My life has been wonderful now for 12 years since that.
Hi Kahleai,
Thanks so much for sharing your story!!
Your story shows that it works. That changing the way you see the circumstances and situations you’re living, you can change your entire life. When I was younger I always had the “why me” type of attitude, but after years of being that way I changed the way I saw my adversity and it made everything have reason and positivity.
-Andrew
I spent about 8 months homeless over a decade ago. Looking back on that time I realize now that I learned a few good lessons. Not wanting pity, I’ld often tell people that I felt sorry for them because I was not the one with rent, utilities and other bills that had to be constantly considered. Although I did have expenses, in retrospect, parts of that time were some of the most carefree moments of my life. It also provides me with a constant reference point about HOW my current life could be worse. During that period I also got to know several people in worse personal situations. I was working, despite being homeless, so had the money for child support and visitation with my daughter.(2 days in a hotel every other weekend) Knowing you aren’t suffering from a serious addiction or mental impairment provides more comfort once you’ve known people less fortunate. I also believe the experience has left me more considerate of others. I just found your site today. I’ll try to return and learn more later. Hope life keeps treating you well. Steve “Dream” Weaver
Hey Steve,
Thanks so much for stopping by and for sharing your story! It’s incredible.
It seems that our toughest times in life are when our most valuable lessons are taught to us.
Kudos to you for working while being homeless and supporting your daughter. There’s so many fathers who abandon their kids but don’t support them even though they have the ability to.
I also think that I’m more considerate of others because of the poverty I lived and because of the other experiences I had growing up. It’s from walking in various shoes. We get a certain perspective that others don’t.
Thanks again for sharing your story Steve. I hope to see you around the site often.
-Andrew