Today I have a quote from my favorite book, the Bible. James 1: 2-3 reads “Consider it a pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
Think about that for a minute..consider it a joy when you face trials..how can we do that? Well if we change our perspective, we can decide to see all things as learning experiences, good or bad. It is not the trial that matters, but our reaction to it that counts. The next time you face something bothersome or a trial of some kind, step back and pause for a bit rather than just quickly reacting, then think about the situation from 3 different points of view..first, your point of view, then the point of view from the others involved in the situation, then thirdly imagine the point of view from a complete stranger to the situation, and you might find that the stranger might have an unbiased take on the matter. Getting into a practice of doing this will make you much more effective of a communicator, at first it may be a challenge to step outside of ourselves, but give it a try and let me know what seems different when you try it.
For me perseverance is about follow through, and getting to a satisfying end of a project even if that means doing what may be uncomfortable, if it’s the right thing, do it, and do it until it is complete.
Finally a bonus bit of motivation today.. daylight savings is here, meaning one more hour of daylight, and along with that is the warming temperatures, and for those of us living in Wisconsin, it’s long overdue. This week in the mid 40’s..for us that’s a heat wave.