Today I’m grateful for perspective. Being able to see the relative importance of things, events, and problems has been a wonderful blessing in my life.
One of the best questions I find to ask myself when I am stressed is, “will this matter in X amount of time?”. Things that seem really important and earth-shattering suddenly become less important and even trivial. That question also helps me realize that other things, that might seem, at the moment, of minor importance, end up being very important to my long term happiness. Perspective helps us to understand what is actually important.
My parents taught me perspective a long time ago. I grew up playing competitive hockey and there was always pressure to make hockey everything. But my parents helped me understand that hockey wasn’t everything. It was a great outlet, it had its place, and I learned a lot from it, but there were more important and lasting things in my life, like family and my education. Perspective helps us put the important things first.
Finally, perspective has taught me that effort compounds. Little things, if done consistently, can become big things if you have a long enough view. Exercising regularly, finding time to meditate and ponder, learning new things every day all compound, but you need a long term perspective to understand that. Perspective aids us in playing the long game.
Ultimately, perspective helps us distinguish what is important from what isn’t, put those things first, and play the long game with those things. I’m so grateful for the perspective I have and the opportunity to continue developing it.
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