5 of the Most Important alternaviews You Need to Live Better

I am sure it comes as no surprise that the way we see the world, our perspectives and beliefs really matter and affect who we are and everything we do.

It is easy to become accustomed to seeing things a certain way and many times we have had the same perspectives for a long time.  Our perspectives have had years to crystallize and settle in our minds and since they have been there for as long as we can remember, many times we have accepted them to be true, without really questioning or confirming their validity.

As a result, it is necessary from time to time to conduct a self audit of our perspectives and question every single thing we have ever believed in and see if it has served us well or if it has held us back.  Has it positively impacted our life or has it been a hindrance? And, if we identify perspectives that are problematic and not really helping us move forward, then we should push ourselves to look at things differently.

We should literally aim to develop different perspectives that may be the opposite of what we initially believed to be true, but are in fact true and helpful perspectives that will allow us to accomplish more and move easier through life. These perspectives are called alternaviews.

And although there are many…

Here are 5 alternaviews that we definitely should have:

1. There is no such thing as luck.

We should never attribute anything to luck because it overlooks the fact that we are in more control of our life than we may think.  When good things happen or work out for us, it is because they were supposed to and they are a direct result of something we put in motion.  All those times we thought we were just lucky or in the right place at the right time were actually circumstances we helped to create.

And, if we can identify what actions and beliefs have worked well for us in the past, we can develop an approach that we can consistently apply to all different types of situations and know for certain that we are setting good things in motion.

2. “Okay” is just not good enough.

We should never settle for mediocrity or become complacent with anything just being “okay” in life.  This applies to everything in our life…we shouldn’t have “okay” friends, we shouldn’t have an “okay” amount of dedication and work ethic, we shouldn’t have an “okay” relationship.  The list goes on and on.

It is not that everything in life has to be amazing, but if we feel that something is just meeting average standards, then we need to be motivated to improve it or change our perspective of it.  Why? Because how we feel about the things and people in our life determines our overall experience and how our life will unfold.  We need to make certain that we feel positive and energized about the things we have chosen to be a part of our life.  And, to the extent we don’t, we need to either change the things or change the way we are looking at them.

3. There is no such thing as a setback.

Any challenges that arise do so for a reason.  They are there to grab our attention and remind us it may be necessary to make some changes or modify our current approach.  What we have mislabeled as a setback, is actually something that is preparing us for advancement in the future.  It is providing us with information and feedback that we need in order to accomplish what we desire.

If we can recognize that what we learn is an integral part of our future success, we will be less apt to be discouraged by challenges.  We will realize that if we pay attention and learn from challenges, they will actually position us for success.

4.  Being realistic is overrated.

When we really want to accomplish something huge…something amazing…something beyond what we have ever thought was possible, we will let go of being realistic.  We will do more than just our ordinary, realistic goal setting and add a HUGE goal to our list of things we want to accomplish.

We will not confine ourselves by thinking we have to be realistic and we will add that one thing we have always felt we were meant to do to our list.  We will then take that first step…a small step, and begin working toward our #1 desire.  Regardless of whatever else it is we are doing, we will make certain we take small steps everyday and we will continually work toward our goal.  Why? Because we have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

5. Don’t aim to be perfect…aim to be diligent

When we set out to do anything, it seems to be the logical conclusion that we strive to do it perfectly.

However, aiming for perfection can be overwhelming because we are reaching for something that seems to be too lofty and difficult to reach.  It can also lead us to mistakenly arrive at the wrong conclusion that we aren’t making progress, simply because we have not reached our personal definition of perfection. And, we can be so focused on perfection that we sacrifice our ability to learn by doing and accept the mistakes we may make along the way.

Instead of aiming for perfection, we should instead aim only to be diligent.  This removes the handcuffs that come with perfection and requires only that we pursue something with an unwavering commitment. It gives us a recognizable goal to strive for and something we can feel good about doing when we have consistently maintained our dedication and focus.  Aiming to be diligent is really what sets us up for success.

Conclusion

Don’t accept things as true just because you have always believed them.  Don’t be afraid to question what you believe in.  Search for the truth…for alternaviews that inspire and encourage you.  Reprogram yourself where necessary and live your life according to your new perspectives…that is the alternaview.

Do you have alternaviews? Please share your thoughts with us in in the comments.