Change Your Perspective

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” — Thomas Edison

The above quote is from Thomas Edison after he invented the light bulb, which cost him over 1,000 experiments before he found success. Sometimes, I ponder why he didn’t give up after a few tries. What kept him going, and why did he respond to these events differently? Why wasn’t he discouraged? Why didn’t he just do something else?

The quote answers that: he didn’t see each trial as a failure, but as a success in learning what would not work. The way he viewed these failed trials made him persistent and tenacious. His mental fortitude emanated from his perspective. Edison didn’t refuse to give up just for the sake of giving up, but because of his perspective on each failed attempt. He never saw the events themselves as failures, so he never quit.

We act because we think, and our perspective—our philosophy—shapes our thoughts. Our perspective is the way we see things; it is our mental view of people and events. So much of our background, culture, experiences, and relationships influence our perspective, which in turn influences our actions and judgment. For example, a farmer may respond differently to the rain than an outdoor salesman, members of the same sport teams might react differently to a loss.

I believe our outcomes are largely determined by our actions, our actions are based on our thoughts, and our thoughts are shaped by our perspective. This got me thinking: given that our perspective has such a role in our outcomes, it then means to change our results, we must change our perspective. It is our responsibility to find a perspective that keeps us growing, encouraged, motivated, and inspired. As humans, I believe we are capable of changing our perspective; growth comes from within.

Find a perspective that makes you see yourself as someone capable of growing and becoming better regardless of circumstances. It’s more about what goes on inside than what’s happening outside. See problems as opportunities; see challenges as stepping stones; see not trying as the only true failure. See trying and failing as a path to success and training as a path to greatness. See the gym as a way to a healthy and beautiful body. See the hard and difficult path as the way to abundance, and the broad, easy way as the way to ruin.

Change your perspective about your mistakes, your past, your traumas, and your regrets. Change your perspective about pain and suffering and use them to be better. Find a perspective that forces you to come back, to rise again, to try one more time, and to be wiser, stronger, healthier, and excellent.