5 Steps to Putting Things in Perspective
1. Ask yourself what the cost and consequence to you are when you react with such intensity.
For example
Are you infuriated by small frustrations?
Anxious about the uncertainty of events?
Derailed by inconvenience?
You may be making yourself anxious and angry and making matter worse.
Fortunately, this can change. You can reduce your stress by seeing things in perspective.
2. Stand back and observe and describe—don’t judge.
We usually upset ourselves about our interpretations of events rather than what really happened.
So write down what happened without your judgments.
For example, “I lost my job and income”, “I do not have enough money”, “I lost money”.
Then, think about how extreme your response may be to these events etc. I need to gamble to find a solution to my problem.
Suspend judgment and just become an observer.
By observing you detach. This reduces stress.
3. What can you still do even if this is true? It’s not the end of the world.
For example, if I have lost my job and income, are there other things that I can do?
You will quickly learn that your life is unchanged even if this apparently upsetting event has occurred.
It’s more a preference than a necessity.
4. How will you feel about this in a week, month, or year?
My mind will get hijack by over-reaction in the present moment; I will become impulsive and reckless, obsessive and compulsive and then forget about it the next day. This is often what happens to me.
If you see your intense feelings disappear with time, then give it time. Be patient. This, too, will pass.
5. Think about the event as an inconvenience.
It would be nice if everything went your way –but the world is not constructed that way.
Rather than label it as awful, a disaster, or something you can’t tolerate, think about it as a minor inconvenience. It is an inconvenience and preference—not a necessity.
Keep in mind that you can alter the way you respond to what is in front of you.
If you find yourself stressed about everyday events, you may have lost perspective on things.