Be Impressed With Your World
By Jay Forte, Coach, Author, Educator
Life is full of surprises, but the unfortunate reality is that we often miss them because we don’t pay attention to what happens in the little moments. We get stuck in habit mode and end up doing the same things over and over. No wonder life can seem boring.
When we’re stuck in our habits and playing life on repeat, we can find ourselves getting caught up in our little (and big) dramas.
So how do we get out of this rut? By learning to appreciate the unexpected. It could be…
- The rainbow that appears after an afternoon rain.
- The opening in traffic that lets you move ahead of the traffic jam.
- The smile of a person who holds the door for you as you enter a store.
- Your favorite flavor of gelato that makes you think of your trip to Rome.
- The toddler who sits next to you on the plane and wants you to read a story to her.
- The support of your colleagues who covered for you while you took your sick son to the doctor.
- Brilliant fall foliage on a tedious business trip.
Tune in. Pay attention. Watch. Be impressed, amazed and astonished by what shows up. Look past the challenges and the disappointments and instead focus on the amazing. It’s always there, waiting for us to see it. By refocusing your perspective to see the opportunities, possibilities and options, you will find there is more right than wrong with you and your world.
You have been taught to find the problem, solve the challenge and focus on what needs repair. As you learned this, you can also learn to focus on the opportunity, the success and the things of high value. You choose what to focus on. One will drive you crazy, the other will make life remarkable.
Important Questions from a Coach:
- What impresses you most about your world?
- What can you do to see the opportunities and possibilities presented to you?
- How can you remind yourself to be continually impressed and surprised by life – both the ups and the downs, the challenges and the opportunities?
If you only listen to others, you will always find reasons to be unhappy, afraid or disappointed with your world. The world after all, seems pretty negative. But, you have a choice. You can choose to focus on what’s wrong or you can choose to tune in and pay attention to what is amazing in this moment, on this great planet, with other amazing people.
I choose the latter.
