Pause • Plan • Do

The optimist sees the glass as half full,
while the pessimist sees it as half empty.

And the engineer sees a glass begging to be redesigned.

Welcome to Monday.

This week we are focusing on managing our perspectives and reframing our challenges. Reality is a funny place: we see what we expect to see and usually find what we are looking for. The psychologists and behavioral economists even have a name for this: confirmation bias.

Unfortunately, our perspectives almost always limit us. The world gets truly interesting when we consciously decide to look at our situations differently. I have a few questions that I regularly ask myself to force me to consider different perspectives:

1. What is trying to happen here?
2. What can I learn from this?
3. What if everything that is going on right now is happening to prepare me for my next big thing? *

Almost any situation can be turned inside out — or upside down — to be seen with new eyes. Let's give it a try this week.

The Week Ahead

To get the most out of your week, take a few minutes to clarify your intentions as the week starts to unfold.

1. What is the most challenging situation you are facing right now?
   How can you reframe this situation?
2. Who is the most difficult person you are dealing with?
   How can you see this person differently? Can you let this person be different?
3. What is trying to happen in your career right now?
   What would happen if you got out of the way?

* Note: I am not saying that everything happens for a reason (that topic is beyond our current discussion). What I am saying, is that my perspective often shifts — and good things happen — when I ask myself, "what if the totality of what is happening to me right now could be leveraged for gain or a greater impact, rather than fought against or merely endured?"

(And, yes, I really talk to myself like that sometimes.)

I wish you rich discoveries this week. Make it great.