It’s About Perspective
By Nannette S. Funderburk, PhD, LPCS / January 10, 2020
Think about what you’re thinking and put the right perspective on it.
This is the time of year where setting goals is popular. According to Inc.com, 60 percent of people set goals for the New Year; however, only eight percent successfully complete the goals. A forbes.com article notes that of those who make resolutions, 80 percent will fail within the first 30 days. What causes the successful people to be successful? The perspective of the visionary impacts whether success comes or not.
In the past year there was a first to occur in the pageant world. Five nationally and internationally recognized queens of the top beauty pageants in the world were crowned, and they were all Black women: Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, Miss Universe, Miss America, and Miss World, all with varied backgrounds, each representing a non-traditional standard of beauty. Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted congratulatory remarks that said “… their commitment and dedication exemplifies Black excellence.”
How did these women become excellent? How did these women reach the goal of attaining national and international crowns? Senator Harris nailed it; commitment and dedication. None of the aforementioned queens became queen overnight. There were several smaller pageants that each queen completed successfully in order to get the national and international titles. To attain these smaller goals there were even smaller goals that were accomplished. So how did these women become national and international queens? They set small goals and kept working toward them. Large goals can be intimidating and overwhelming. Consistent commitment and dedication to the small goals gets you to the bigger goals.
How does this apply to you? First, check your perspective. Often we believe the lies that are in our own minds. These are the lies where we say we are too old, too young, too poor, not educated enough, not thin enough, not thick enough, or on and on and on. Check your perspective. As a wise sage noted, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” This is not simply a “think positively and everything will be okay” message. It means think about what you’re thinking about and put the right perspective on it. What would happen if instead of saying “I can’t get this done,” you said, “How can I get this done?” and then you connected with someone who knew more than you. This is how the successful people do it.
Next ask yourself, what is the smallest baby step I can take in the direction of my goal. For most of us, we’ll need to take that step and break it down into smaller steps. This next step needs to be actionable, meaning you can do something to make it happen. So, saying “I want to be happy” is not actionable. What is it that you control that can carry you in the direction of your happiness? Let’s say, for example, that taking better care of your body would make you happy but you recognize you don’t know how to do that. You do, however, remember that your insurance covers nutritionist visits so you begin searching for nutritionists and schedule an appointment. The goals of finding a nutritionist and scheduling an appointment are actionable, and carry you in the direction of the ultimate goal of being happy.
To reach all of your goals, continue in this process of checking your perspective and breaking each goal into actionable steps until your ultimate goals are realized.
The S.E.L. Group The Social and Emotional Learning Group is located at 3300 Battleground Ave. Suite 202, Greensboro. Phone 336-285-7173. Email: contact@theselgroup.com and visit: www.theselgroup.com.
