I was chatting with a young friend the other day and she said something that reminded me of the power of perspective. We were discussing her current move to a new apartment and how the up-front costs had depleted her savings leaving her living from payday to payday. Although she had just taken on a second job to help her ‘get ahead’, she spoke of how she had felt a few weeks prior.

She said,

“It was so scary. After I paid all my bills, I only had $16 in my bank account to get me through to my next pay check!”

Our conversation moved on to other things but this sentence stayed with me. Not so much because of the words she used but because of the energy behind them. In that one simple sentence she conveyed:

• Anxiety
• Terror
• Failure
• Lack
• Desperation
• Despair
• Horror
• Hopelessness

Powerful huh?

In those few words she was letting me know how she felt about the number in her bank account. Or more accurately, what that number meant to her.

Her sense of security was threatened by the number of dollars in her bank account. Not because of the number itself, but because of the way she viewed it.

Even though she had a roof over her head, food in the fridge and a car on the drive … she felt vulnerable.

For her, that sixteen dollars was all that stood between her and destitution. It felt fragile, flimsy and faithless. It didn’t feel like it was enough to ‘keep her safe. 

Your perspective will either become your prison or your passport ~ Steven Furtick

For my young friend, her perspective generated powerful emotions that created anxiety and despair. She felt trapped. She felt like she had no options.

Her perspective became her prison.

Maybe just for a few days until her next pay check arrived, but the energy behind her emotions  was strong enough to drive her to find a second job. Even though she was already working a stressful well paid full-time job, she was willing to put herself under more pressure to avoid the pain of potential loss.

Although the money she earns from her second job is not substantial, taking action relieved her emotions. It allowed her to view her situation with a renewed sense of security and safety.

But what if she could have relieved her emotions by using the Power of Perspective to Create an Alternate Reality instead?

Let’s take a look at  another way to view my friend’s sixteen dollar bank balance.

I’m so thankful that even after all my bills are paid, I still have $16 in my bank account. It feels amazing!

Can you feel the difference?

This perspective conveys:

• Gratitude
• Hope
• Excitement
• Abundance
• Freedom
• Success
• Empowerment

This perspective becomes her passport.

It frees her from anxiety and allows for possibility and expansion.

With this perspective she isn’t reliant on a second job to ‘feel safe. She chooses her own sense of security through the way she views her world. She can still take a second job if she wants to, but it will be an empowered choice rather than one driven by anxiety and hopelessness.

The Power of Perspective to Create an Alternate Reality is incredible.

You don’t need to wait for things to change to feel better about your life. Instead you can choose to feel better about your life and watch it change in the same moment. 

No matter what is happening in your life or around you, there is always another perspective available to you. All it takes is the willingness to question what you see and take another look.