Skip to main content

“Our perspective is not determined by what we see.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity (p. 206). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Perspective can make such a difference.  It really can.  But where does it come from?  How do we get it?

John says, “It’s determined by how we see, and that comes from who we are. Two people can be in the same situation and see things completely differently. While a scarcity person often looks at a situation and thinks, There’s no way! an abundance person sees the same things and thinks, There’s got to be a better way!

He goes on, “The world is a better place as a result of people whose perspective was shaped by abundance thinking. People thought there was no way to get a room warm other than by using a fireplace. Benjamin Franklin thought there was a better way and invented what we call the Franklin stove. People thought there was no way to get anywhere fast on land except by using horses. James Watt thought there had to be a better way and invented the steam engine. People thought there was no way to talk to people miles away from them. Alexander Graham Bell thought there had to be a better way and invented the telephone. People thought there was no way for people to fly under power. The Wright Brothers thought there had to be a better way and invented the first powered, motorized airplane.

“Do I need to go on? Change your perspective to one of abundance from one of scarcity, and you open the door to innovation and positive change, not only for yourself but also for others.”

We lived in a very small place about 30 minutes from Margaret’s work.  I am retired so I have become Margaret, my wife’s Uber driver and I wasn’t sure I wanted to add time to our travel.  My perspective was that it would be a negative.  But we started looking and found a place that was larger and closer to our son and his family so we moved.  Yes, the trip is longer but Margaret and I are together in the car and we love where we live and we love being close to our kids.  And the time goes fast even though it is about an hour longer each day.  Our perspective changed.  We made the right decision.


So, where do you need to change?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...