CHANGE YOUR STORY

Is Your Perspective Holding You Back?

BY KIRSTIN LEIGH

How you perceive things can be the bridge or the barrier to everything you want in life. The great thing about perspective is that it’s yours. You can change it anytime. Because it can be easy to allow our vision to become narrow, it is important to examine our viewpoint from time to time. Today, I want to encourage you to ask God with an open mind if your perspective is holding you back from all He has for you.

5 Ways Your Perspective Holds You Back

1. Believing that this is how it’s always been and this is how it will always be.

“Another day, another dollar.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“This is as good as it gets.”

I’m not sure who came up with those slogans. But I do know that God says in Proverbs 29 that where there is no vision, the people perish. (v 18 KJV)

Cures for diseases don’t just appear. All the technology we take for granted didn’t create itself.

The millions of organizations that help feed, clothe, and rescue people started with an idea.

When we take action on an idea God has given us—it doesn’t just change our story. It can change the world!

2. Seeing things not as they are, but as we are.

We’re told to “put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.” This is good advice, but here is something to think about: Even when we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, it’s still US in THEIR shoes.

We can never truly see things from someone else’s perspective, but by trying, we can broaden our own view. We can challenge ourselves to think outside the box, befriend people who aren’t like us, and get outside our comfort zone. We can get to know ourselves— especially the self we don’t want to know.

We can study the beauty of the human mind, spirit, and soul. We can read. Reading allows us to experience lives we will never know, do things we’d never do, ponder others’ thoughts, and travel the world. And reading is free.

3. Being too involved.

At the height of romance and in the throes of trials, tragedies, and triumphs, our emotions can take over. We can become consumed, confused, in love, in denial, and even devastated. Succumbing to the intensity of the moment threatens to make it nearly impossible to see anything other than the moment we are in.

As hard as it is, take a step back. Take a breath. Take a walk. Pause and pray. Ask God for His clarity before you move forward. The decisions you make in these moments will forever affect your life.

4. Thinking, “It’s all about me!”

It doesn’t matter if a given circumstance IS all about you. Focusing on only yourself puts you on an island, keeping you from recognizing that others are affected, too. And the repercussion is that when someone tells you about their problem, you’re still thinking about yours.

Not being able to see past ourselves doesn’t always mean we’re selfish or small-minded. It can mean we have an unwarranted or unrealistic sense of responsibility. We see a situation and immediately think, “How can I fix this?” or “What should I have done?” (Totally guilty, by the way.)

Regardless of our good intentions, something about the word “I” takes us away from the moment, and pretty soon, our mind is consumed with “us.”

Being selfish is exhausting, time-consuming, and distorts our vision. Carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders… not our responsibility.

When we get out of our own way, life becomes much clearer.

5. Lacking Faith.

Until we truly know God, with whom all things are possible, our perception will be limited. Understanding this opens our eyes and draws us closer to our Maker.

God wants you to walk through life with nothing holding you back. Ask Him to give you the strength and discipline to keep your eyes wide open so you see the opportunities in front of you. With God’s clarity, as well as self-awareness, we begin to see things as they truly are.

Only God’s vision is perfect. But the more we walk in faith and spend time with Him, the clearer ours becomes!

Seeking God’s perspective will Change Your Story.

After running away from her dreams and battling addictions for over a decade, Kirstin Leigh is now a best-selling author, speaker, actress, and the founder of The Change Your Story Workshop. She is passionate about empowering others to break free from strongholds and discover the masterpiece that lives within. To find out more about Kirstin or to purchase her books, you can visit: www.Kirstinleigh.com For information or to enroll in The Change Your Story Workshop: www. thechangeyourstoryworkshop.com