Putting It Into Perspective

Do you ever find yourself playing something over and over in your head? Do you sometimes feel just fed up at the thought of dealing with things in life? It could be anything - the house renovations, the bedtime routine, the commute to work, having to plan your child's birthday party, the thought that winter is approaching...

A great technique when you are feeling down in the dumps or just plain sorry for yourself, is to look at a problem or an issue from another perspective.

Here are a couple of exercise to try when you find something going round and round in your head, and you are even starting to bore yourself!

Exercise 1

1. Draw a circle and divide it into four segments.

2. Now label one segment with your "take" or perspective on the issue/feeling/problem. Now let's try some different hats on for size. As I'm writing this around Christmas time, here's a nice seasonal issue as an example:

   "Oh no, it's only 4 weeks until Christmas and I haven't done any Christmas shopping, and I hate Christmas shopping."

3. Now, what might the opposite perspective of this be? By hook or by crook, write another 3 different perspectives in your circle.

Here are some examples of how you could view the Christmas shopping:

• "Great, I've still got the thrill of enjoying all the Christmas atmosphere whilst shopping. I'll make a special evening shop of it and treat myself to hot chocolate in a cafe."

• "What an opportunity to try something different. I'm going to do all my shopping online this year."

• "Oooh, spending money on others; what a treat. And it's going to be wonderful when I see their faces light up when they unwrap their gifts."

Exercise 2

1. Write down the issue that you are losing all perspective with.

2. Answer the following questions with the first thing that comes to mind. Here's a clue - the answers don't have to be sensible!

   • What would I do if I was: Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson etc (Think of a strong personality, someone you admire or who makes you laugh)
   • What would my closest friends say to me?
   • How would my (eg mum, sister, boss) behave in this situation?
   • How could I have this issue be easy?
   • How would my children react to this issue?

Copyright © 2004 Amanda Alexander - may not be reproduced without permission.