Deciphering the Looking Glass

June 24, 2016

I seem to recall that Alice in Wonderland spent some time cruising around a make-believe world. What she saw…or thought she saw was reality. And much of it was affected in some way by a looking glass. Was it a magnifying glass? Was it a portal to another dimension? Or was it simply a differing view of her world.

Whatever the case, I’m very much a fan of evaluating your station in life and using your own looking glass methodology to give it a positive spin. Be it sickness, job loss, income or even social issues, there are lots of things everyone probably considers when stepping up to their looking glass.

Though this post is more introspective than instructive, here are the three ways I’ve been able to keep my eyes on positive prizes in my life.

1 – Reflect on positive memories. From the trips we’ve taken (yes, it helps to have done some things…but I’ll cover that in a moment) to the trips that are in the works, a focus on different environments is a big help in assuring myself that there are always options.

Sometimes the most difficult step is taking that first step and going somewhere or doing something. From visiting the museum in the next town to hopping on a jet and visiting another country, it all begins with some curiosity and drive.

2 – Reflect on miserable memories…and then discard them. I know I sometimes comfort myself prior to medical tests or taxing meetings by thinking of horrible experiences I’ve had. Then I factor in the chance of that bad result/bad meeting/bad experience happening again. In the grand scheme of things, bad stuff seldom happens repeatedly.

Though there are some folks for whom it seems bad things happen all the time. That’s not because more bad stuff happens to them, it’s because they have the power of social media to share all the negative events with the world. I believe if you share good stories and fun experiences, you’ll be viewed as more positive and happy. And in many cases this is infectious to the point that it can affect your own outlook.

3 – Get out the calendar and make that your window into the future. The dates in front of you are all equally full of potential. The coolest power anyone can leverage is the power to select some dates and fill out this calendar with stuff you’re going to accomplish or enjoy.

When you think of a calendar as a literal window into the future, it is the looking glass we talked about earlier. And don’t you think that’s better than some sort of scary looking glass?

What’ do you have planned for the future? Why?