Changing Life Experience through Shifting Perspective

Posted on March 18, 2018

Changing Perspectives on Life Experience

I have always perceived my life as struggle. As a young child I can recall watching certain movies (namely the Rocky franchise!) that were built upon an underdog theme and strongly resonating with the character. Something within me was drawn toward the struggle, the hurt, the pain. I was drawn to the secrets that lay deep within the hidden elements or surface of that person. Yes, a fictional character, but I felt powerful emotions and a fighters spirit like waves through my soul.

Perhaps because I view my life as something out of a Rocky movie and fighting against the odds I have supported that struggle in some way. My perception of life never giving me what I want, or always having to fight for some victory through times of darkness and despair has potentially escalated the complexity of my life. Many painful lessons have repeated. For a long time, particularly through my earlier years, I kept asking “why me”? “Why me” can be a very confusing, disempowering and dark place forged in loss and lack.

Why me?

These words enhance a mentality that keeps us locked into the struggle of that circumstance. And we are all guilty of feeling this way and maybe supporting this avenue of thinking at some point in our lives. It is natural to question why we experience certain things in our lives. However, we should aim to not stay chained within that paradigm, in this way we can move through it. When we can remove ourselves from our limiting beliefs or harsh impact of that situation, we can broaden our mind and switch to changing our perspective to the bigger picture. Each life experience is trying to teach us something valuable. Perspectives are precious. If we can shift the way we look at something then we can change our entire experience of it. From there, we can take action from a platform of an open heart and mind.

Nothing is redundant in our life experience.

“When you’re scared, when you’re hanging on, when life is hurting you, then you’re going to see what you’re really made of”- Sylvester Stallone

Life is a spiral with many twists and turns

As we evolve and grow as people, we will return to similar experiences and life lessons that test our resolve and capacity to overcome. If there are particular themes that continue to play out in your life, there is a reason for it. Everything has purpose on your life path. We will draw people and experiences toward us at a subconscious level because there is something more for us to learn from them. If we keep trying to deny our challenges, our pain, fears and sorrow then we remain tightly knit within them. Our mind/ego will pull us toward frustration when life sets us upon a similar lesson to re-visit. Be open to the lessons and allow your heart to guide you toward a new way forward.

We complicate the process of life’s inherent flow when we think we have learnt it all and now it seems we are moving backward. When we sit within judgement, blame, and ego-oriented beliefs then we defensively raise our guard rather than expose ourselves to the experience so we can transcend it.

There is no finish-line on the path to soul growth- there is no race, no perfect place to get to where life is easy. We can release judgement and fear-based thinking when we entertain that life is a journey with many pit-stops along the way and we are responsible for finding the beauty at every twist and turn.

“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road”- Stephen Hawking

People and Experiences act as Catalysts

Often we fight against the people that hurt us. The experiences that emotionally wounded us in some way. We fight against the pain they caused. The betrayals and toxicity of what they created within us. As long as we continue to battle with our emotional wounds they will gain momentum. Swirling up storms of inner grief and destruction. We draw our sword and raise our shield to protect ourselves because we never wanted this pain. As human beings we fear pain so greatly. We arm ourselves with whatever it takes to disguise our vulnerability and shield our heart. But if we can turn the tables on how we view the people and challenges that cause us inner conflict, then we can begin to see them as catalysts instead.

Catalysts move us toward inspiring a greater sense of self. Like a peeling back of the layers of what we subconsciously created to keep ourselves ‘safe’. We are transformed by the deepest and darkest touches of pain as profoundly as the wildest and wonderful touches of love.

We fear emotional exposure and the depth of our vulnerable side. And yet this is what we need to embrace in order to dance with life (rather than sit on the sidelines in false protection mode). Challenging life experiences allow us to chip away at our old ways of seeing, being, and doing. This prompts a powerful renewal and regeneration of who we are.

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value”- Hermann Hesse

Life is not a straight line. It is intricate and seamless. It swerves us this way and that way so we can pick up deeper pockets of love, compassion, and inner strength along the way. Embrace life’s drama’s, curves and hits as fuel that inspires you to seek your authentic mark. Work with the circumstance rather than against it. We may sometimes feel like life is punishing us, but it is actually pushing us toward our own enlightenment. Stay open to your unlimited potential.

We are responsible for how we use our life experience so we engage through a lens of love, enhanced sense of self, inner wisdom and higher consciousness.