Last week, I discussed the Power of Perspective and I gave you a tool to help achieve perspective. (You can read last week's Mindful Moment here.)

The tool was a very simple question: "WHY?"

The directions were:

Take a look at your daily actions and ask yourself one simple question: "WHY?"

I asked you to use the "why" question to shake up any default decision-making that may be taking place. In order to properly answer "why" we must also ask ourselves "how much?" But be warned, "how much" is a double-edged question. Let me explain.

In order to fully use the power of perspective you need to examine each decision from two angles:

• How much does this action add to my quality of life?
• How much would I lose by not doing this action?

The first question strives to ensure you are spending your precious time and energy only on those things that are in line with your hopes, dreams and goals.

The second question helps you to weed out those activities that were put on your "to do" lists by someone else or that have been there so long, you have forgotten why we were doing them in the first place.

I want you to think for a second about holding a grudge against someone who has done something to you. Unfortunately, for many people holding grudges is a natural part of life. But run it through your new perspective filters and the dialogue might go like this:

"WHY am I holding a grudge against this person?"
"Because they did this horrible thing to me!"
"How much does holding this grudge add to the quality of my life?"
"Um - not much."
"How much would I lose by NOT holding this grudge?"
"Well - nothing really. In fact, if I didn't hold the grudge, I'd probably feel less stress and tension. Maybe that's why I'm not sleeping well. I wonder if my upset stomach has anything to do with the grudge?"

You get the idea.

Enough theory! Now it's time to put it to practice!

This week, I want you to try to examine your actions and ask yourself the two questions:
1. "WHY?"
2. "HOW MUCH?"

I'd love to know if you find these tools helpful!

ENJOY NOW!

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National Library of Canada ISSN 1708-0606

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