Perspective and mood

Perspective is the way we choose to see the world; it determines our thoughts, which create feelings, which inform actions. Perspective is a main driving force for mood and can cause us to feel good or bad about ourselves, life and/or others, etc.

Being curious, by noticing our perspective and asking ourselves questions, can bring powerful insights.

• Why do I think/feel this way?
• Where did I learn to think/feel this way?
• What might life look like if I thought/felt an opposite/alternate way?

We often inherit the perspective of our parents or caregivers (without realising it) and continue to live life through their viewpoint, even as adults. If you never question your perspective, you’ll never know if it’s actually yours.

It can be illuminating (and possibly fun!) to see what it feels like to change your perspective with the following exercise. Think of three people (alive or dead, real or fictional) and imagine viewing a problem or situation through their eyes. For example, if you were nervous about an upcoming social event, imagine how the Queen might handle it - how would she think/feel/behave?

Being open to different options and shifting your perspective can lead to many things, such as developing a greater ability to understand others and/or stay calm when others challenge you, and building stronger relationships with friends, family members, partners or work colleagues.

Having the courage to learn who you are and begin to live from your own choices can be super empowering. Counselling can provide a safe, non-judgemental and supportive place for you to try out new ways of seeing yourself and the world around you, which can lead to epic life-changing changes.

Counselling can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. Feeling anxious and/or nervous about opening up to a stranger is understandable. The good news? This uncomfortableness tends to lessen with time.

Counselling sessions are guided by you, the client; there are no obligations and no expectations. You can go at your own pace and talk about what you want to talk about - a counsellor won’t push you to talk about anything you don’t want to talk about. They may ask questions, not to challenge or intimidate you, but to gain a deeper understanding of what is going on for you and what you may need and/or want from therapy.

Now Therapy (my counselling practice) can work with you - wherever you are in life right now, whatever's going on for you right now - whether that means learning more about your perspective and how it may be affecting your mood or tackling difficult issues, working toward change or practising mental health maintenance.

Now Therapy isn't the therapy of the past; it isn't stuffy, stern or one-sided. It doesn't assume you're "broken" or need "fixing". It is a contemporary, supportive and non-judgemental counselling service that views you as an equal - a human being who's valuable, worthy of empathy and who's capable of change, growth and reaching your full potential.

There's no time like now.