Perception
How do you perceive your circumstances during this challenging time?
Perception is a remarkable ability. Perception can generate hope and contentment, or it can cultivate fear and unease. The difference is how you see your current situation.
With the COVID-19 outbreak we are unsure of what is next. We wonder if we will get sick. We worry how we will survive this financial crisis. We are all dealing with a situation we have never faced before. And when I say all, I mean the world.
Through all my challenges I learned something very valuable: My perception has a lot to do with how I deal with adversity.
• As a teenager with dyslexia I learned to change my belief that I was ignorant. To believe I was capable of learning, I just needed to adapt how I learned and to focus on my strengthens.
• At twenty-three I changed my perception of being a victim of abuse to a survivor of abuse.
• As a young woman who lost most everything after my divorce and bankruptcy, I chose to let go of being a victim of my circumstances and started taking ownership of my situation.
• As a widow who felt all alone and grieved the loss of the love of my life, I rethought my loss. I embraced the fact that I enjoyed a caring supportive relationship and recognized how lucky I was to have had such an amazing loving experience.
Each one of these situations were challenging, yet I was able to manage my perception throughout and after each experience. So, I ask you today: how do you perceive the effects of COVID-19? Are you living in fear of all the what ifs?
- What if I get sick and recover? That would make you a survivor.
- What if someone I know gets sick and recovers? That would make them a survivor. Maybe one or both of you could help others in some way as survivors of COVID-19.
- What if our normal changes? That change could make you more adaptable. Your new normal might just turn out better in some way.
- What if I lose my job, home, or a relationship? Consider that maybe you’ve been stuck in your current situation. Only something significant like this experience may have the potential to force you in a new more positive direction. Learn to embrace alterative perceptions so you can see new possibilities.
“When one door closes another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” - Alexander Graham Bell
I realize this may not be what you want to hear.
Let me share with you one of my own experiences. When I divorced my first husband at 24, I didn’t want to leave the home I lived in with my two children. The problem was I owed more on my home than it was worth. After my divorce I didn’t make enough money to pay my monthly mortgage. I felt that they needed the stability of our home, so I fought to stay--thinking it was best for my children and me. Nothing seemed to work no matter how hard I tried to make it work. I couldn’t pay my bills; the kids and I were constantly getting sick; I was moving from job to job unable to maintain a constant paycheck. Once I quit trying to hold onto the house everything started falling into place. I found a little condo across town I could afford; I landed a new job managing a health club in the same area; the kids and I quit getting sick; I also started dating an amazing man who I ended up marrying years later. When I let go of my old perception of what I thought my life should be and embraced a new perception my life changed for the better.
This isn’t the only story of how accepting change and a new perception has worked out for the better. All I’m asking of you is to look at this challenging time in your life as an opportunity for something new, maybe even a better way. Don’t let fear of the unknown and the what ifs keep you from seeing the possibilities of what could be.
I wish you the best and hope you find peace during this challenging time.
Love,
Mannette