The Way I See It....

Have you ever worn a red or blue pair of sunglasses, I suppose any pair of sunglasses works for this. It gives everything a different shade. When I was a child, I had a pair of red sunglasses. I loved putting them on, and then taking them off, putting them on, then taking them off.. just to see the effect that the color lenses had on my surroundings.

Lately I've let situations overwhelm me. I've let my hope sink into hopelessness, my excitement into dread. I realized that maybe I just have dark tinted glasses on, and that my reactions could be different if I decide to see things differently, to put on a different pair of sunglasses.

In psychology class last year, one of the things we talked about was how we react to situations. We can take a scenario and view it in one of two ways: we can see it as an opportunity, or we can see it as a threat. That's a choice that we can make about any scenario placed before us.

When we choose to view something as an opportunity, the rain can be seen as a place to dance, and the situation can be seen less like "just bad chance." Last year we learned that when we view a situation as an opportunity, we are more productive and optimistic when dealing with that situation. It's like the red sunglasses I had in elementary. A sunset turns a brilliant shades of orange, red and gold.

When we choose to view something as a threat, the rain just feels wet, and we are much more apt to fret. When we view something as a threat, it can become like a festering sore, that simply keeps growing and oozing. It's harder to move and make good of a situation if we view it as a threat. This reminds me of when I was in about second grade, and decided to be really cool and wear my sunglasses inside. Which made surroundings looked gloomy..

So as I face the challenges that are indubitably around the corner, I have a choice. I can wear my dark sunglasses and see the situation as a threat, or I can place my color-vivifying sunglasses upon my face and view the situations as an opportunity.