It’s All a Matter of Perspective
“There were 20 bad to horrible things that happened today, but I choose to focus on the one positive thing.”
I think this is something all of us know in life. Everything’s just perspective. It’s common to see something along this line on a leadership or inspiration quotation. You can choose what your mind focuses on (believe it or not you can train your mind). You may not be able to control what happens in your life at times, but you can always choose how you react to it. It’s something I’ve been more aware of in Paris.
This wasn’t what I planned my next blog post to be about but what happened today has really made me reflect on this. I planned to go around and explore Paris today because my Metro card finally arrived and as part of my class on Social Entrepreneurship, we need to go out into the city and document a social issue. So the day started out when I went to the bank to unblock my card, but instead they took away my card completely and ordered me a new one (ie. I don’t have access to my bank account until I get my new card). The guy said it should arrive on Friday but cannot guarantee it, and it so happens that I’m leaving Friday for 9 days of traveling. It also didn’t help it started raining when I walked out the door (I haven’t seen the sun for over a week). Wasn’t a very bright start.
I was taking line 12 to go somewhere and when the metro stopped at St. Lazare, everyone was looking left and I saw an unusual amount of people leaving the subway. I had my iPod on and when I took my headphones out, I heard someone call out “appelez la police!” which means “call the police!” Everyone was shoving and pushing to get out of the metro and I had no idea what was happening. I saw people sprinting from the metro to the exit stairway and I didn’t stop to check to my left what exactly was happening. Someone said something about a small explosion and something violent. My heart was beating so fast that I had no idea what to do — go back on the subway as some people were still in there or run out of the station. Needless to say, I was scared and I had no one I knew around me. People were just bewildered and panicked. I knew the exit was a long way away so I jumped back in the subway. Thankfully the subway left a minute later and even till now I had no idea what happened there. I was just completely terrified and shaken.
That pretty much killed my mood to go anywhere else to explore Paris. I tried getting off at some stops and just going outside to different places but after the whole day, I really didn’t get many shots I needed. So I went to school for an event like originally planned but then I got really hungry towards the end I decided to leave early to get home. Well, my bad luck continues as I get onto the subway home. Line 7 stopped twice and both times I got on the train and was told to get off. I was stuck at Pont Neuf for over an hour. There weren’t any other lines there and the only way I can get home is with Line 7 so I literally just waited for over an hour in a crowded stinky subway stop until the next metro came. And when it did, it was chaos. There are 2 directions for line 7, and I had to get to the right one because it showed if I didn’t get on this train, the next one in my direction would be in 45 minutes. I was at the front of the line and I could barely get on. I have never been this squished in my life — I couldn’t stand, breathe, or put my hand anywhere as I got onto the metro.
After one of the most uncomfortable 45 minutes ride, I finally got off and got home. It was a very crappy day. I spent over 3 hours in the metro, I was freaked out, I was wet, and I was starving. To say the least, I was pissed and had a horrible day.
But as soon as I got home, I had some of my homemade pasta, changed into PJs, and watched a movie. These simple tasks made my horrible day disappear behind me. I had all the grapes and desserts left, and treated myself to Belgium chocolate. By later in the night, I wasn’t pissed or mad or sad anymore. I’m actually really happy I finally got to watch this movie I’ve wanted to for a long time. I focused on the awesome presentation I listened to today and how inspired I was to meet this social entrepreneur (and the Founder of AIESEC was there too!). By the end of the night, it wasn’t such a crappy day after all.
Paris has changed my perspective a lot. I used to let things bother me for a long time. I easily got upset and angry at various things…and sometimes life in general when I’m stressed out, and overwhelmed (which was quite often). A small thing can ruin the rest of my day and my mood was generally low. I can be so bothered by an upsetting event that it blinded any small positive thing. But it’s the exact opposite in Paris. I’m generally a lot happier and for the most part, always in a good mood. Things still bother me and piss me off (especially the French bureaucracy) but I get over them a lot quicker and don’t let them dictate how I feel for the rest of the day. A small thing can brighten up my day and help me easily get over my bad mood. Positivity can be stronger than negativity when I choose to believe so.
Life is really all about perspective. You can choose to focus on the bad thing and let it ruin your day. Or you can choose to focus on the small positive thing and make everything better. I choose the latter.
Originally published at susieshier.wordpress.com on October 20, 2012.
