A man standing on top of a hill

How to Get Your Perspective Back on Track

/Updated /71 Comments/in /by Mary Hunt

These days, it’s easy to fall into the muck and mire of worry and defeat. Personal crises like a financial emergency, the loss of a job—or worse, your home—punctuated by the daily news can ruin your perspective and dump you into a pit of despair.

What you need to know today is that even when things seem completely hopeless, there’s always a way out. That’s not to say that you should slip into denial when bad things happen. But good things also happen.

A man standing on a rock

By learning how to control our thoughts and stepping back to see the bigger picture, we can climb out of that pit and into the sunshine of a new day. It’s all about learning how to get our perspective back on track.

Feelings are fickle

Our feelings cannot be trusted. They send messages to our brains that are not always reliable. Today, your emotions, like mine, may be all over the map. Instead of allowing our feelings to run the show, we need to take control by writing things down in clear, simple sentences. Acknowledge the facts. It is what it is—no better, but no worse, either. 

Allow yourself to mourn

The loss is real, so don’t deny it. Feel the hurt and the pain, but don’t stop there. Keep moving through it. And don’t beat yourself up if you need some help. Grief comes in many forms, and you may benefit from a qualified counselor to help you navigate through this period.

The future is better than you think

We’ve hit some bumps in the road. All of us are living through things we never dreamed would knock us off course like this. Even if you feel like you’ve lost everything, consider it a heartbreaking interruption on your journey. While things appear cloudy right now, you do have a bright future.

Dwell on the positive

The simple act of gratitude will change your perspective. Compared to about 95 percent of the people on this earth, you are wealthy and blessed with abundance. You may not have it all, but when you get right down to it, you do have enough. You’ve had a setback or two, but it’s not the end of the road. Failure is not the end unless you quit. We can’t allow one setback—or even a series of setbacks—to define us.

Don’t give up. Never, ever

No matter what. You know what they say about quitters: They never prosper. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Lift your head up high. What looks like darkness right now is just a cloud. Behind it, the sun is shining on the bright future!

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from Everyday Cheapskate

money makeover overhead angle of laptop, calculator, and financial diary notebook

Broke and In Debt? How to Give Yourself an Extreme Money Makeover

Person Feeling discouraged Over Credit Bills

How to Beat Discouragement to Get Through Tough Times Stronger Than Ever

Female hiker sets backpack down on grassy hillside feeling discouraged lighten your load

Feeling Discouraged? Lighten Your Load

Let’s Make Every Day Thanksgiving!

Gift Card retail rack

The Shocking Truth About Gift Cards

3D HALF PRICE word on white background 3d rendering

Live Your Life for Half the Price

Happy Faces

What Do You Need to Be Happy?

car keys

Your Money Temperament and Why it Matters

USD currency in jeans pocket

Like Finding Money You Didn’t Know You Had



Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines



Caught yourself reading all the way 'til the end? Why not share with a friend.

71 replies
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »
  1. Karen Mandart says:

    Well thank goodness spring is on the way and we can try to look forward to colorful flowers and chirping birds. I’m lucky to have my gardens and I sunbathed the other day letting myself get lost in the sunshine. Video chats with my grandchild will have to do, but there is nothing like a real hug – and I pray I’ll get one in the future. Keeping in touch with friends and family also helps. God Bless the nurses, doctors, all hospital workers, truckers, grocers, restaurant workers and deliverers – all those who are still working to help the quarantined! God Bless, keep healthy and six feet away!

    Reply
  2. sondra carter says:

    Hi Mary
    Glad to hear you are well, Praise be to God, I live alone, considered highly subsectiple because I’m Dietbectic and 76. But I know who’s in control my Heavenly Father, Yesterday I got a call from my daughter that an 80ft pine tree fell in their back yard and missed the house which everyone was inside. See God is in control.

    Reply
  3. Laurel says:

    Hello, Mary:

    Thank you for being the uplifting and wise voice of reason all these years! Oh, how I wish I would have listened to you all those years ago and had become debt free! Well, I did listen, got out of debt, but then forgot and one “justified” slip has ballooned into $11,951.62.

    The GOOD news is:

    1. I am in real estate which is considered an essential service, so I still have a job.

    2. We are all working part-time, but are still being paid for full time. (HUGE BLESSING!!)

    3. I’ve wanted to work part-time for years, but could never afford it.

    4. Giving me time to actually re-prioritize (God first?!) and start with a quiet time again, for the first time in years!!

    5. Giving me time to give away/sell/put away items; and

    6. Make my dog, who struggles with separation anxiety, the happiest dog on the planet!

    Thanks again, Mary, you’re definitely a bright light for God.

    6. Getting my focus back on paying off my debts asap, so I can again know that FREEDOM!!

    Reply
  4. Mary P says:

    Thank you Mary for the wonderful posts and tips you have on your webpage. I enjoy them so much, and especially today’s it is so uplifting and encouraging. We live in Canada and we are in isolation as well. What We’ve been doing is spring cleaning and also baking buns and bringing our lonely neighbours some. We live in a condo and their are many who need encouragement. So I phone and check up with them and bring them some home cooking and baking!

    Reply
  5. Gail says:

    Thanks, Mary, for your encouraging words. I keep positive thoughts while working in my yard and gardening. My husband had planned a 3-month trip to Alaska which of course won’t happen, so I’m putting in spring flowers. My yard looks the best it’s looked in years and it brightens my days. I read and walk the dog and work on inside projects I’ve been putting off. Tomorrow I might tackle my file cabinet

    Reply
  6. MaryLynn Carlson says:

    I received your emails for many years and love the ideas and advice. These days are a bit easier for me because I’m a retired RN and don’t have to go to the hospital. My husband and I are doing what we can to find a new schedule–walking outside every day, waving at neighbors, cleaning and organizing in our home, and finding purpose in doing things like sewing masks for friends who work in local care centers. Daily devotions via FB from our church help immensely. Choose joy!
    Joy has not been cancelled! Listening to Singing News radio online also helps as we work.

    Reply
  7. Rhoda Lang says:

    Reading this letter from you almost made me want to cry, because I miss my grandchildren as well and hearing you feel the same makes me aware I am not the only one, but they are well and lets hope and pray that we all stay well and look forward to an ending to these terrible times.

    Reply
  8. Sharon says:

    I’m a widow too. Staying home, hunkered down. Other then a case of cabin fever, can’t complain. My daughters and their families are well too. Missing my daughters and my grandchildren. Thankful for being able to text and Zoom. It amazes me how God, in a short time, can get the attention of the world! I pray for this to result in another great awakening! Our lives will be forever changed because of this virus. When I feel myself begin to get anxious, I am so glad I can take a breath and rest in the God who made me and has control! At the beginning of 2020, my pastor shared a word God gave him for our church for this year—“Trust God Together.” This is a time for all of us to lean on God and trust him together. He is Emmanuel! He is God with us—yesterday, and today, and forever. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.” 

    Reply
  9. Barbara Carolan says:

    I too, am a widow. Currently one of my sons (51) is living with me due to a disability. We try to give each other as much ‘personal’ space as possible. Obviously, locking him in a closet is frowned on, so occasionally we butt heads; but it doesn’t last long. In addition to my dog, I’ve found working outside in the yard very beneficial for me and the yard. Love reading, crossword puzzles, knitting and scrabble online with my daughter-in-law. Yes, it is annoying and an inconvenience, but it will not last forever. Many prayers for those who have lost jobs and/or businesses.

    Reply
  10. Frank says:

    Mary,

    I was somewhat surprised that you made no mention of God in all of this.
    For many of us as indicated by the previous posts, our faith is the reason that we can carry on with out worry through this crises as well as other tough times.

    Frank

    Reply
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *