What would you like to change about your life? Would you like a different job, a better-performing staff, a higher income, to be a better leader, inner peace, a happier relationship, a healthier body, less stress? What are your hopes for your life? Do you let yourself think about the possibilities?

Sometimes, it is too difficult to think about what we want. We may believe we can’t have it, it’s not realistic, or it's a waste of time, so we don’t even bother dreaming up possibilities. Unless, perhaps, we recently purchased a lottery ticket!

Desired change is possible, and it can even happen quickly.

So, how can you change? How can you start to create your life as you would like it to be? As a professional coach, I help people change their lives—inside and outside of business. One powerful tool I use is to help my clients shift perspectives.

Assessing Your Current Perspective

Your perspective is how you view something, such as a situation you are in. It is how you choose (consciously or unconsciously) to interpret your place in the situation. This includes what you believe to be your options in the situation.

In any situation, there are many ways to interpret what is happening and what your response should be. In other words, there are many perspectives you can choose (yes,choose). You are responsible for choosing the perspective from which to view each and every experience in your life.

But we usually don’t see ourselves as having choices, so we don’t make a choice. We are more likely to think things are being done “to us” and that we have no control over them. We say to ourselves, “This is how the world (my boss, boyfriend, mother, son, etc.) is. I can’t change it. This is what I am stuck with.”

Guess what? This isn’t true!

We actually have more power and control over how we respsond to events in our lives than we think we do. We can learn to move from automatically reacting, to a place where we get to choose our reaction. We are free to become conscious and to choose.

When you start to choose, you impact what "shows up" in your life. The perspective you decide to adopt affects your actions, your feelings, and your experience.

Take, for example, how you'd respond if a friend canceled a lunch date with you at the last minute. You could:

• Decide your friend doesn’t like you anymore.
• Determine that your friend is self-centered or rude.
• Be happy for the free lunch hour you suddenly have.
• Wonder why your friend canceled and if she or he is okay.
• Reschedule the lunch without giving it much thought.

You get the point. There are numerous very different ways to view the situation.

Look at the first option on the list. How would you feel if you chose this perspective? What if you chose number five? How would your feelings be different? You’d likely feel more peaceful and joyful if you chose number five. And, as a result, you'd probably have a better afternoon.

Here is a powerful truth: When you choose to see differently, you feel differently. When you feel differently, you experience your life differently. Feeling differently leads to acting differently and making different choices.

Bottom line—you can change your world in a single moment by changing your perspective.

Creating a New “Automatic Pilot”

Changing your perspective takes practice. Let’s face it, you've spent years automatically allowing your reactions to choose for you. Now, to feel better, you must start choosing. You must remind yourself over and over to choose the perspective that you want to be "in."

The reward for all this effort is how much better you will feel. As you “try on” each perspective, become aware of how different each one feels. Explore many perspectives, play with them, and then exercise your power to choose.

One of my clients—I'll call her Lori—offers a good example: Lori was looking for a new job. She was not only unsuccessful, she was deeply unhappy—bitter that individuals in the companies she'd applied to were not getting back to her. She focused on how they were not respecting her and became more and more angry and frustrated with the job-hunting process. As a result, Lori felt powerless and unhappy—believing she was being mistreated and the world was unfair.

When Lori realized she was choosing this victim-like perspective, she was able to switch her focus and start taking care of herself and her needs. She chose to focus on what she wanted and how she could get it, rather than waiting for others to do it for her. As a result, Lori was able to apply for more jobs while looking forward to achieving her goal.

With her new perspective, Lori's attitude changed. And, as you might imagine, her more responsible and positive attitude changed her experience for the better. She felt powerful, in control, and confident that a new job was possible. Not only did Lori spend her time and energy more effectively, she became more desirable to prospective employers. She came across as a pleasant person to be around and landed exactly the kind of job she wanted.

Choosing a different perspective can have a domino effect on the way you impact, and experience, your workplace, home, community and world.

Choosing Your Perspective

This powerful tool is available to everyone. Use these easy steps:

Step 1—Decide to change.
Sometimes we don’t want to change. Conditioning has taught us to stick with an old, familiar pattern. It is comfortable and requires little effort. There might even be a payoff for feeling bad, not getting what you want, or being stuck. So, first decide you want to change. The benefits can be great.

Step 2—Get clear on your perspective in the situation.
Take a look at an unsatisfactory or frustrating area of your life. Ask yourself, “What is my perspective here?” Really take time to clarify it. We tend to operate on automatic pilot; often we don’t even know we have a perspective. If you are not consciously choosing a perspective that feels good, your default perspective is still affecting you.

(If you want to play with perspectives in your life, some areas to look at are: career, employees, finances, family and friends, significant other, hobbies and recreation, living and working environment, personal growth, and spirituality/religion. What are your perspectives on these areas of your life?)

Step 3—Create a new perspective.
When you are clear on your perspective, come up with several alternate ones. Stretch your mind! Ask a friend or coworker for help if you wish. For example, if you dislike your job and your current perspective is, “It’s useless, I will never be able to do what I want,” perhaps a new perspective might be, “I am ready to find a career I am passionate about,” or “There is a perfect job out there and it's time for me to find it.”

Step 4—Choose one.
Now, look at the alternatives you’ve listed. Choose the one that feels the most powerful, peaceful, and appropriate for you. This is the perspective you want to “be in” for now.

Step 5—Live here!
The next step is the big one. Live in the new perspective for a while. It’s simple. Every time you realize that you have slipped back into the old perspective, choose again! You will know when you have slipped back because you will feel unhappy or dissatisfied.

Have fun and keep practicing until choosing perspectives feels natural. Enjoy increased satisfaction with your life!

About the Author

Andrea Wylan, Principal Coach of Innerworks Coaching, is an Executive and Personal Success Coach. Her company works with individuals and businesses to help support change. Andrea can be reached at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or www.innerworks.ws