Everything we see in life is viewed through a filter, and each and every one of us view life through our own unique filter: our shifting perspective.
Our perspective is the way we think about anything and everything. Perspectives are influenced by our beliefs and experiences. Your perspective influences you and impacts everything and everyone around you.
We must admit that our perspective is also greatly impacted by social media. It can be great fun playing with the different filters on Instagram and Snapchat… okay, a ton of fun. Yet, it is not always healthy to look at life through filters. When was the last time you stopped and asked yourself what filters you apply to yourself and your life?
What perspective do you judge yourself by? Do you evaluate your life based on those friends on Facebook who are married, have kids, with a great house and picket fence? Or maybe it’s the fitness model or celebrity on Instagram. Perhaps you apply the filter of perfectionism. Or maybe you just seem to have an overall negative perspective.
How does this play out?
Anxiety, depression, high stress, lack of sleep, being burnt out, etc., all add their unique filter or twist in perspective that you may not be aware of. Often, we are our own toughest critics applying the harshest and most judgmental filters to ourselves and our lives. But why?
Now we could get very philosophical, or even super psychological, but let’s keep it simple. You are human. No one is perfect and it is human nature to compare and judge ourselves. Everyone has their own insecurities and crap that we must deal with.
When we feel like we have been dealing with the same crap day in and day out it impacts the way we view our life and current situation. Our perspective is altered, and we view ourselves and our lives through that crap filter.
Our perspective is based on our beliefs and experiences;
on a basic level, our beliefs are our thoughts. When I’m looking at myself through a crappy filter my thoughts are almost exclusively negative, not positive. I find myself stuck, looking at myself and my life from a negative perspective.
I’ll be the first to admit, I’m my toughest critic. Many of us can identify with that statement. In my personal and clinical experience, I have found that changing your perspective often requires a shift in your beliefs or understanding.
The way you think = the way you feel
Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky, authors of Mind Over Mood, assert that to change the way you feel you must first change the way you think. Their book is based on cognitive therapy. A central tenet of all cognitive therapy is that our perception of an event or experience is powerfully impacted by our emotional, behavioral, and physiological response to it.
When we come to understand the way our thoughts, moods, behaviors, physical reactions, and environment interact and influence one another, we begin to see our problems from a different perspective. We need to try and take a step back to view ourselves and our lives in their entirety and reality, not through our crap filters and negative perspective.
Negative thoughts, perspectives, and filters are a part of life
that is not going to change unless YOU want them to. If you feel like you could use a shift in perspective to help you overcome whatever crap life has thrown your way, come on over, we would love to talk.
At Shift, we combine Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Reprocessing. We see our clients as the expert they are. You are the expert on yourself and your life. We just know a few things that may help you overcome the crap and struggles in life. Let’s work together to change your perspective and understanding of your struggles, and the negative thoughts and behaviors that come with them.
Our goal at Shift is to be a jargon-free, stuffy expert-free practice; with zero interest in judgment or stigma. We are all human and have all had struggles at one time or another.
If you are ready for a change or to challenge yourself, maybe it’s time for a SHIFT!!!