Seeing is believing

Or is it the other way around?

Welcome to a new week!

I feel like an entire month has passed by since last week! Isn’t it funny how some weeks are like that? It’s the same number of days, but some weeks feel like a blink and others an eternity. It really is about perspective…which brings me to today’s LIFT.

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Welcome to The LIFT

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NOW YOU SEE IT

In a few weeks, my husband and I are moving into a 55+ community - the same one where my folks currently live. We have been planning this move for over a year so it seems somewhat surreal now that it’s actually happening.

It was exactly five years ago that my husband and I announced our last move. We traded in our 3BR / 3BA suburban lifestyle for a 1BR / 1BA on the 15th floor of a 23-story high-rise. After 30 years of raising kids and collecting all of the things that support that lifestyle, we were ready to give ourselves a fresh start.

The summer of 2019 was essentially a Swedish Death Cleaning at our house. (If you haven’t read Margareta Magnusson’s book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, I highly recommend it.) It was an epic project downsizing from 2400 sq.ft. to 762 sq.ft.

We emptied the house one room at a time until finally it was just the two of us in one corner of the house with just the things we would need to live comfortably in our new tiny space.

It felt SO good!

And, we have LOVED every minute.

Never for a moment in the last five years did I think of our space as small. (Well, there may have been a moment when they announced shutting down the amenities in our building for a few months during the pandemic. lol. But, even through all of that, our space was never too small.)

Until now.

Now that we have our move on the calendar and are starting to plan out how we will set up our 1800 sq.ft. space in the 55+ community, I have noticed our apartment suddenly feels crowded. Cramped. Our balcony area seems small and narrow.

When we had friends over recently, I felt like we were tripping over each other, which has never happened before. It just feels too small.

Nothing has changed. We don’t have more stuff. It’s the same space as it has been for the last five years. The only thing that has changed is my perspective.

It’s crazy to see how our minds shift. We see what we want to see. The very same mind that made our 762 sq.ft. the perfect size is now telling me it is too small.

It made me remember that quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

What do you see?

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NOW YOU DON’T

Of course, this plays out in SO many ways in our daily lives. We don’t realize how much of our reality is simply a set of beliefs we have chosen to focus on and build around.

We make our own reality.

Sometimes it’s hard to hear that, but it’s true.

We don’t control what happens around us, but we absolutely control the story we tell ourselves about it.

I’ve been working with a new wellness brand and due to massive growth the last few months, the company has been out of stock on a lot of products as they adjust their production to meet the growing demand.

While that’s all going on, some of the people on my team are very focused on what isn’t in stock. And, sure enough, they are frustrated and it impacts their sales. Others are focused on what IS in stock and are having their best sales.

Same month. Same inventory.

Different perspective. Different outcome.

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ABRACADABRA

Think of how quickly my mind went from thinking our apartment was the perfect size - to suddenly being too small. It was like magic.

If only we could learn to wave our magic wand more intentionally, we just might magically see the outcomes we want. (In fact, I can assure you we would - and fast!)

We can focus on a lack of space or a lack of inventory or any other thing that makes us feel cramped and disgruntled - or we can change the way we look at it and watch how it changes.

One of the best ways to change perspective is to change your environment. I’m remembering this as we go through the motions of moving this month.

But, you can get the same shift in perspective by traveling. So, if you have travel plans on the books this summer, use the opportunity to take in a new perspective. To shake up your own beliefs a bit. To see things a new way. To appreciate your own life more. To discover new ways to bring a little magic to your own life.

If you can’t travel this summer, you can travel in your own mind by reading a book. Read something you wouldn’t normally read. Take in a different perspective. Explore a new part of the world through someone else’s eyes. Learn from someone’s story.

Move. Travel. Explore. Imagine.

Then, bring that new perspective back to your life and wave your magic wand.

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YOUR MISSION:

This week, I challenge you to notice where you feel cramped and crowded in life. Where do you feel like a victim of circumstance? Are you ready to see it in a new way?

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RESOURCES:

• READ: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning | Margareta Magnusson

• READ: Taking a camper van trip to get a whole new perspective on your life | CNN Travel

• READ: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao | Dr. Wayne Dyer

• READ: Change how you feel by changing your perspective | Tiny Buddha

• READ: How to Change your Perspective and Change your Life | BetterUp

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IN SUMMARY:

It’s funny how attached we get to our own way of thinking - as if it really is the only way.

Let’s have some fun this week trying on a new perspective.

See you next week?

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Meanwhile, reach out to me anytime!

Karen Friend Smith
Certified Health Coach & Environmental Health Specialist
Specializing in Perimenopause & Menopause 

karen@itmaybemenopause.com
www.itMayBeMenopause.com
Instagram: @itmaybemenopause