Life, the role of perspective and mental health

This life that we are living is a wondrous thing, and we are very lucky to be here, but it does present  us with some of the biggest challenges and hurdles we will ever come across…life is after all the greatest challenge we will ever be presented with. It is ironic to think that we might see a marathon or a triathlon as a great feat, but this singular event will pale in comparison to the marathon of our life. Life is hard. Life is a struggle. But on the other side of the coin, life can be beautiful, life can be an opportunity to find joy and happiness. It all comes down to perspective, and how we view what is happening. Is the glass half full or half empty? The matter of perspective has been at the forefront of philosophical thought for millennia. One of the earliest remarks on the impact of perspective on human psychology was from the Buddha when he said “life is a creation of the mind”. Shakespeare echoed the same sentiment but said it more poetically with “there is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Throughout the ages many have given their own twist to this, but essentially grappled with the same thought- it is our perspective of the world that creates it.

Perspective is not just about our view on life in general, but how we view situations. Two people can see the same thing differently. We as human beings are very complex entities, we are at the behest of both internal and external stimuli and most importantly, something that is known as The Human Condition. The Human Condition in a nutshell refers to the myriad situations that we encounter, the hang-ups and predispositions we hold onto, and the multitude of emotions within us and how this plays out in our microcosmic world and society at large. This is a lot to deal with and can lead to a lot of stuff floating around in our heads and which can result in stress and anxiety and negatively affect our physical and mental health.  As a result of this we can be in our heads a lot through excessive thinking and therefore create our own perspective of life and situations. This is not always a good thing, because we can tend to make up scenarios in our heads. Sometimes we might be right on the money in our viewpoint but other times we could be off the mark and not necessarily seeing things the way they occurred, but how WE think they happened.

Basically, we all have biases which can alter our perceptions of events, and this depends on our personality and our predispositions as mentioned, whether we are an extrovert, an introvert, whether we are depressed or anxious, optimists or pessimists. There are multiple reasons for our life perspective. But, the good news is that we can alter our basic approach to life if it isn’t serving us and alter our filter to perhaps become a more positive person and improve our general outlook on life… and perhaps preserve friendships.

Ugh. This can be a –excuse the term-  headfuck in itself, but sometimes it is necessary to do this for the sake of the other person or people involved in the situation. Perspective; it is a good thing to be aware of in our lives. It allows us to see multiple viewpoints of the same situation, and be well-rounded in our overall view of life. So if you feel depressed or as though you don’t have much colour in your life, perhaps it might help if you change the way you view life. Change the colour of the lens so to speak. Sometimes we need to look at the world through rose-coloured glasses to see how beautiful it really is. It could also improve our mental health in the process.

Yours in health,

Ben J