What color is your lens?

I’ve been wanting to write a blog post on outlook and how it affects everything we do and feel, then a series of events happened that really did a number on my outlook!

Here’s what happened…

I am most squarely in that sandwich position of simultaneously caring for aging parents and still helping my young adult kids.

Over the last few weeks, my parents each took several turns going to the ER for various reasons.

I was spending all day (and sometimes all night) at the hospital, then getting up to go to work, meet clients, help kids, walk the dog, cook dinner and other normal daily activities.

While my dad was last in the ER, my dog was having seizures. I literally came home and took my dog to the emergency vet clinic that night.

Hospital care is followed-up with visits to different specialists. My calendar looks like a rainbow: yellow for Dad appointments, red for Mom, purple for the pup, blue for business and client appointments. Just looking at it was overwhelming.

Sometimes a doctor’s visit would take a detour, and we would be there longer than expected. I found myself canceling client appointments to make way for the craziness. (Thankfully, my clients are awesome and very understanding).

I worried that Dallas would have another seizure in the middle of the night, and I woke up at 3 am every morning, panicking.

I started to get a scratchy throat and feel exhausted.

Lack of sleep, chaos in the house, and too many demands made me emotional. I felt sorry for myself. “I don’t know if I can do this,” became a daily mantra.

It’s pretty extreme to have so many stressful occurrences happen at once, so it might be understandable that I just wanted to crawl into a hole.

But everyday stressors can pile up, too. Your teenage daughter gives you lip before heading out with a friend, your husband tells you your new pants make your butt look big, you’re late for work because you spilled coffee on your shirt… If all of these things happen in a single morning, you might start thinking that your life really sucks.

Guess what? You can even bring suck into your life with that kind of energy!

I know. It doesn’t sound fair.

You can’t choose everything that happens to you. I definitely didn’t choose to have my parents’ and my dog’s heath all fail at the same time. But you can choose how you respond to what happens to you.

You’ve heard of rose-colored glasses, where you see everything as rosy and positive. When you’re wearing your rose-colored glasses, good things will actually happen for you more.

If your glasses are brown. They might not only just see sh*t coming ahead, but also ensure you get a steady supply.

Lens matters.

Imagine how your energy is affected by the lens you’re using to perceive what’s around you. Your energy enters the room even before you do. Not only does it affect everyone nearby, but it also affects how you feel about yourself and your circumstances.

The lens you choose affects your OUTLOOK, and outlook can have a powerful influence over the components that make up good health.

The Mayo Clinic recognizes a positive outlook can have these impacts on your health:

• Increased lifespan

• Reduced incidence of depression

• Less distress and pain

• Better resistance to illness

• Increased psychological and physical well-being

• Better cardiac health

• Decreased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory conditions, and infection, and

• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

So, is it worth changing your outlook so you can feel better from the inside out? Resoundingly, yes!

Lucky for me, a few nights of good sleep, meditation and exercise (in other words, some solid self-care) all helped me adjust my lens.

I might not see only the rosy, but I’m not a fetal ball of doom and gloom anymore either.

I’m choosing to focus on what I can control. I’m opting to respond with patience, kindness and compassion—and I’m extending those to myself as well.

If you find yourself seeing brown, breathe deeply and fully. Take care of your spirit. Smile to yourself and remind yourself that you have what it takes to handle whatever comes your way. Imagine the very best outcome arriving as if by Divine intervention. Surrender and allow things to unfold.

These simple steps can change your outlook...and they may even improve your health.