IN HER OWN WORDS: LAURA ON CHANGING YOUR PERSPECTIVE…
I’ve always had this annoying habit of being optimistic. I’m one of those positive people who I’m aware can be rather annoying for the pessimists around them. Sometimes, I annoy myself. I have always seen the glass clasped by the female grip as being half-full and forever ready and waiting for a top-up.
My mother once told me a great story about when my parents had gone on holiday to Tenerife before I was born. They had spent a week away on what my mother remembers to have been a joyous and exciting adventure. A few days after they returned to Dublin, they went to a friend’s wedding. Sitting at one of those round tables, not knowing everyone and trying to make conversation, my parents’ recent holiday and my mother’s glowing, fresh tan seemed to be a safe topic, and one that interested their fellow guests.
‘How was your holiday?’ someone asked. My mother scanned through the memories, searching for which tale she’d tell. There were so many – the delicious food or the beautiful weather, or perhaps the friendly hotel staff – but her thoughts were cut short by my father, who answered abruptly: ‘CRAP! It was crap!’ My mother was confused. My father then carried on, describing a horrific holiday unfamiliar to her. ‘Weather was shite! It rained the day we arrived.’ (Mother: ‘Yes, but it was sunny every other day; and the first day isn’t important, we didn’t notice. In fact, we were lucky it turned for us.’) ‘The sand on the beach was so hot it scalded the soles of my feet.’ (Mother: ‘We had such beautiful weather, and a golden beach on our doorstep. It was paradise.’) They both experienced the same holiday. The difference was PERSPECTIVE.
Perspective doesn’t always come easy. Especially if something terrible happens – a boyfriend cheats on you or a colleague steals your ideas. Some people are just arseholes. But coming out of the situation, YOU can control your reaction and how it affects you long-term. How you choose to see a situation governs your mental outlook, which in turn determines how you choose to interpret it and how you decide your response. Remember: change your perspective, change your world.
‘No One Can Change Your Life Except For You’ (£14.99, Orion Spring) is out 4 March