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Sometimes, it's just about the way we look at things. Often times we, definitely including me, tend to look at ourselves as victims of ill fate or circumstances, but every so often we see, hear, or read something that reminds us that there's a flip side that may paint a positive slant on what we were looking, and made us feel so down. Personally, I've had much trouble finding some of those upsides lately, and as I write this, I hope it helps me practice what I preach today by looking at every situation with the title of Joni Mitchell's hit song, "Both Sides Now," from her 1969 release "Clouds."
If I can work on seeing things from both sides, maybe I'll see and appreciate those upsides of things that may happen.
I've coached sports for many years and have never liked losing any contest in which any of my teams have participated. I accept losing is a 50-50 possibility, but I could never, and never wanted my players to, like losing. In my constant attendance at clinics, keeping up with coaching tips, techniques, methods, of sports I've coached, and watching many games on all levels, picking up ideas from other coaches, I came across a statement that might make losing easier to accept, but still not likable. It came from my son's high school baseball coach, William "Bud" Foust, when he addressed his team after being eliminated from playoffs. He said "The next best thing to winning is losing because you got the opportunity."
It's just a matter of perspective, I guess.
There's a question often asked regarding if we see things as if the glass is half full, or half empty. A pretty good extension to that discussion, comes from the Harper Collins book "Slow Medicine," written by Michael Finklestein, a holistic doctor in Westchester County. In his book he suggests that, "If you see your glass half empty, pour it into a smaller glass."
It's all about perspective, I guess.
"The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the leader adjusts the sail," said Dr. Miles Munroe, in his 2005 book, "The Spirit of Leadership," published by Whitaker House.
It's just a matter of perspective, I guess.
Https://www.azquotes.com credits Winston Churchill with saying, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." That credit has been disputed by Richard M. Langworth in his book, "Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality --What he actually did and said." Regardless of who did say it, the words fit, it's just a matter of perspective, I guess.
In 2014, I had some heart issues requiring the implanting three stents in two arteries, and requiring additions to my daily routines, one of them being the daily taking of certain medications, and resigning myself to the almost certainty that I'll have to do this for the rest of my life. To make the routine easier to manage, I got one of those weekly pill containers, where you fill each section with your daily morning and evening meds and leave it in a place where you will remember to take the pills each day and night. It means too, that every week I have to go through the routine of refilling it, which doesn't take long, but is kind of a tedious task, nonetheless. A couple years ago, a friend of mine had different heart issues but resulted in his getting one of those weekly pill containers. He mentioned that it was kind of a chore to have to go through the routine of filling it every week. Having done it for two years myself, I too, had felt that filling it was a bit of a pain, but the upside was still being around to have to fill it. It's all about perspective, I guess.
We all have tendencies to complain about our jobs from time to time, and there are some who might be looking for work and choose not to apply for, or take, a certain available job because it may not seem like it would be as interesting a work experience as they might like, even though they could do the job. Does one take a job that would help them or their family, or choose not taking that job and the income it might create? It's a matter of perspective, I guess.
In my roles as a teacher, coach, and sports official, expectations and consequences have played a huge part. I've shared the expectations and consequences that have been established for me, my students, the players, and those I've officiated, to help me, and them, give the best of our ability to reach the goals. As a coach I've shared expectations and consequences set forth by the school districts and me, the actual schools and me, and the umpires association, leagues, and me. Sometimes some of what's been established by me, personally, is met with disagreement and the feeling that I'm petty in my expectations and requirements. Oftentimes, I've heard comments telling me that what a student, player, or athlete was asked to do by me was just a little thing, so what's the big deal be if the one required to follow it, did not? My question back would be that if it was just a little thing in the first place, then what's the problem with following it?
It's all about perspective, I guess.
I had a baseball player way back, before "Launch Angle" was the hot topic, and I was trying to get him to keep his front shoulder down as he began his swing. He just couldn't seem to make it happen. With both of us getting frustrated, I had my JV coach work with him and see what he could do. In maybe ten minutes, the player was keeping his front shoulder down as he began his swing. I asked my JV coach what he did, and he said he just told the player to keep his back shoulder up. Newton's Third Law of Motion states, "For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction." Keeping the back shoulder up made the front shoulder stay down. My JV coach's tip was just a different way to say where we wanted him to get. To the player, understanding it was just about his perspective, I guess.
In this life, nothing is guaranteed. No one knew when we were born, how our lives would shape out. Things happen, things break down, and things sometimes need repairs. Whether they in our homes, cars, even our bodies, they are not conspiracies against us, they are just a part of life. Accidents happen too. No one plans an accident to happen. No one singles us out to be involved in an accident -- they just happen. That's why they are called accidents. We've all, starting with me, felt many emotions, including anger, when something has happened in many of these scenarios, and we've often asked the question, "Why me?" Afterward, we realize that in some of those cases, what breaks down, or is damaged, can be fixed or replaced, and though it may cost something we didn't want to pay for, our lives aren't going to change much. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess. In the case of us, or a loved one, being involved in an accident, or our, or their, bodies needing repair, or parts needing replacement, regardless of the cost, those things are much more valuable than the money it'll cost us in the long run. You can't put a price tag on human life. It's all about perspective, I guess.
One definition of perspective taken from the 1996 Edition of "The Webster's New World Student's Dictionary," read, "A certain point of view in understanding or judging things or events." It goes back to the glass half full or half empty discussion. When you pour the contents of the half empty glass into that smaller vessel, it changes the whole complexion of the situation. Maybe, keeping this in mind, and looking at things from both sides now, especially when we think only bad things happen to us, or when someone asks us to do things we feel are petty and/or unnecessary, we may see a whole picture and get the full spectrum of the situation. It could change our perspective a lot. I'm going to give it a try. Feel free to join me.