Day 6 - Reframing my Perspective
Some of the repetitive adulting tasks in life are terribly boring. I would be okay if I never had to wash, sweep, mop, or scrub another dish, floor, sink, or toilet again. That’s not how it works though. Today I am shifting my thinking about how I accomplish these more mundane responsibilities.
Instead of “have to” thinking, I’m adopting a more productive perspective with “glad to” thinking. Instead of thinking ‘I must wash the dishes again,’ I can think ‘I am glad I get the opportunity to wash dishes again because it means I have food to eat.’ If I have dirty dishes, that means I’m using them. If I’m using my dishes, then my family is not going hungry, and for this I can be grateful.
Focusing on modifying my “have to” thoughts about washing the dishes stopped me in my tracks. Food insecurity is something I don’t think about nearly enough but many of our community members struggle with it every day. I wanted to know more about how food insecurity impacts my community, so I went online and spent a great deal of time getting sucked into the internet abyss.
Each article I found on food insecurity and the staggering number of low-income families with school aged children in my community’s public school district sunk me deeper into distress. I don’t know if this was the goal of today’s challenge, but I can’t disregard what I have learned.
I will be mindful of my lack of awareness surrounding this concern. I recognize my privilege and I will work to ensure that I maintain an awareness of and dedication to understanding how food insecurity impacts my community.
Back to the challenge for today: identifying opportunities to reframe my mindset. Instead of having to sweep my floors, I get to sweep my floors; I get to clear away the debris that my pooches carry in on their paws from the backyard. The dog fur I sweep up reminds me that I am a recipient of the unconditional love of three crazy canines. I can even be glad to get the time I’m cleaning to listen to an audio book.
Addressing our perceptions can be scary; as we begin to think critically, digging below the surface level of our awareness, a full-scale shift in perspective about something can occur. By completing today’s challenge, being grateful for the opportunity to complete a chore I’ve done many times before, an opportunity of self-improvement emerged.
It really is a magical thing, the joy that a shift in perspective from must do to choose to can bring. Sitting here writing this, I feel a little silly that I haven’t thought to do it sooner. Not only does this changed mindset improve my emotional health, but it also gives me energy to complete the task at hand; and by doing the task, I’m moving my body, improving my physical health.
Stock image provided by Unsplash.
