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A new perspective can help you rise above troubles.
If you hear a story long enough told in the same way, you just start to assume it's true. After awhile, as more and more people go along with the general belief, fewer people question the story, and it becomes accepted as a fact.
Those who do question it are often called rabble-rousers, trouble-makers, or just flat out crazy.
Are you crazy?
I hope so! It is these same "trouble-makers" that enact change. It is these same mavericks that look at "the way it has always been" and question whether or not that is the way it still should be.
Put plainly, true leaders question the status quo. They look at the ordinary and discover the extraordinary. They look at the same story that has been told for years, and they ask, "Is that really the whole story?"
Are you questioning the ordinary?
Many of us feel stuck in our own lives due to our circumstances. Maybe it's your finances, job, health, or relationships, but the more time goes on - we just start to accept that the way things are can't change.
Are you seeing the whole story? Are you questioning your current situation?
Maybe you just need to make a shift. Maybe you need to look at your life from a different perspective.
Same story - but a different perspective.
Recently my wife talked me into going to see the musical "Wicked." If you don't know about the story, it focuses on Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. The story follows the two witches in their younger years and you learn why they end up being the way they are.
What I love about Wicked is that it takes one of the most classic stories of all time, "The Wizard of Oz," and it totally shifts your perspective. They don't change any of the facts - but they provide you with background and context you never knew before. The end result - things aren't always what they seem.
I don't want to give away any of the details - but the story blew me away. It is brilliant. I can't wait to see it again.
As I thought more and more about the story - I started to think about "stories" in my own life I have always accepted as fact. Is it possible I just need to change my perspective, get more information, and take a different view?
If I want to be extraordinary (I really do) - I can't really settle for ordinary (sometimes I feel I do).
So now, whenever I come up against something in my life, either about me or someone else, I challenge my perspective and ask questions. "Is that the whole story?" "Is it possible there is a better way?" "Do I really know all the facts?"
Lastly, there is also a song from Wicked that has been an energizer for me recently. Now, I must say, I never thought a song from a musical would become my theme song, but it has. This from a guy who recently picked Run DMC's "King of Rock" as my entrance song for our improv show.
Anyway, the end of the first act of Wicked ends with Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the East) finally realizing that she needs to be her own person instead of being held back by what other people think about her. The song is rousing and it gives me the chills. Combined with the singing and a series of notes few people can reach, the lyrics are inspiring and moving. The song is called, "Defying Gravity. "
Here is an excerpt of some of the lyrics:
Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!
I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down:
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!
Don't we all want to defy gravity in our own way?
The question is, what are you doing to challenge the stories and paradigms you've accepted as truth?
Maybe it's time to look at those paradigms from a different perspective. The Law of Attraction has recently turned on millions to the power our thoughts have on our reality. In "The Power of Intention, " Wayne Dyer outlines what it means to be more intentional in creating the life we want to live. For over 130 years, Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health has provided spiritual law for challenging false paradigms - and giving all of us the ability to defy gravity. She writes, "Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the demonstration thereof. Life and goodness are immortal. Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight."
How are you "shaping your view of existence?" I would love to hear your stories!
Remember, feel free to contact me for a free one-on-one consultation if you need help defying gravity ;) I can't wait to hear from you! Read more from this blogger at Travis Inc.
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