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Putting Our Problems Into Perspective
A daily exercise to live a better life.
“If you struggle with putting things into perspective, just ask yourself two simple questions: What’s the worst thing that could happen as a result of this? Will this matter in five years? Your answers should put a stop to cataclysmic thinking.”
~Travis Bradberry
It’s no secret that when we reflect on past problems, equipped with the time and space to do so more objectively, we don’t tend to react in the same harsh ways (with pain, fear, doubt, etc.).
When encountering problems, whether they be in our work, our relationships, or our physical bodies, many of us are well versed in turning them into a really big deal.
Yet when we look back on them years, or even only days, later? Not so much.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could look at our problems this same way in the moment?
A simple reflective exercise can help us do just that.
Remembering our individual insignificance (whether by noting the size of the universe, the sheer number of people occupying Earth, or something like the law of impermanence — that everything changes) we all know, at least conceptually, that our problems aren’t all that significant in the grand scheme of things.
