Written by Rhonda Musak
Have you ever stood in front of a painting in a museum with your nose pressed up to the do-not-touch-this-painting wall to have a really up close, in-depth look? As you view the painting from up close you may notice tiny brushstrokes, intricate textures and surprising colors layered one on top of the other. And perhaps, at that proximity the picture itself is completely distorted and may even look like alien life.
However, when you step back and see the painting from a distance, it is as if everything comes together magically. What looked up close like bits of white paint now become Monet’s wind or Seurat’s water, and with it the artists’ ideas of a moment of life captured forever: light and depth now reveal meaning and value. We see the whole and are amazed not only by what we miss when we are up so close but we are also astounded by each tiny thought, idea, and action that went into its creation.
This is the beauty of perspective.
Our lives too, are a work of art… and very much in progress. But most often, our noses are pressed right up against this incredible creation that we are living. We wake up and run to auditions, the studio, rehearsal, our family and friends, our projects—all the while wondering if we are any closer to the brilliant dreams that we envisioned for ourselves.
While we are traveling on the journey, it is almost impossible to see exactly where we are on the map when we are so focused on getting to our next destination. What if, we too, were able to step back and gain the perspective on our lives that we so joyfully take when we are looking at a painting?
I want to share with you my powerful exercise called The Perspective Shift. It’s a bite-size exercise that you can do any time when you’re feeling a little too up close to your life, or feel free to do it daily to get a continued perspective adjustment.
In The Perspective Shift, we first look into the past—either near or far—to notice what our concerns were at a particular point in time how we successfully handled the concerns then. You might question, “But did I really handle them? And successfully?” If you’re here reading this today you must have made it through those challenges… somehow.
The next thing we look at is the very near past: yesterday. Yesterday you spent your whole day being concerned with “yesterday,” so now discover just exactly what you accomplished.
Finally, we discover ways in which the dreams we have held in the past are fully realized in our lives today. Sometimes, with all of our running about we forget that we are actually living the life that we want to be living, or are at least on the way to it. Really inspire yourself with this one!
Please use template below and experience for yourself how a shift in perspective can reveal your life as a true masterpiece.
The Perspective Shift
TODAY’S DATE
Three Concerns of ANY DATE IN THE PAST
1. Concern (outcome)
2. Concern (outcome)
3. Concern (outcome)
Top Three Accomplishments of YESTERDAYS DATE
1. Accomplishment
2. Accomplishment
3. Accomplishment
Three Examples of How I Experience My Greatest Dreams and Desires Unfolding NOW
1. Example
2. Example
3. Example
Rhonda Musak is the owner of NYC acting studio, Art & Soul Acting. As an acting coach and an Erickson-trained, solution-focused life coach, Rhonda blends powerful acting techniques together with transformation solution focused life coaching; a dynamic combination that insures that students learn sustainable acting tools as well as know when to use them and why.
For more information about acting classes, private acting coaching in person or via Skype, college prep program and the Art & Soul Acting Book Club for Actors’, please visit www.artandsoulacting.com
