Yesterday, I talked about the glory that comes with working hard and defying the odds. Today is a new day.
A huge factor in our success is the luck that comes from perspective. The difference between unlucky and lucky people could be boiled down to this one thing. Although I'm really enjoying my time here, not everyone is the same. A lot of my coworkers hate their situation and can't wait to move back. A major reason for this is their perspective, which can be applied in four major ways: creating chance opportunities, listening to your intuition, being positive, and adopting a resilient attitude.
In order to create chance opportunities we have to be open to and ready to accept the opportunities that present themselves before us. We can do this by looking for them and taking leaps of faith in trying new things. A lot of my coworkers who aren't enjoying themselves much aren't really being open to the cultural differences, the things they could be doing, etc. Many end up living the same lifestyle the did back home but now that they're in a different country with different values and social dynamics, things aren't matching up and the imbalance creates dissatisfaction. "Bad luck" in things not working the way they'd want them too, yet those who are embracing the cultural differences and willing to try new things are having a much better time.
Our intuition is our subconscious trying to chime in on our decisions. We store so much information in our brains that it can sometimes be difficult to readily retrieve all of the information we need when thinking a problem through. Our intuition is like a second opinion that says, "wait a minute, have you considered this?" It's this second opinion that helps us notice opportunities we may not have initially considered. When I go on hikes I sometimes see things that look really interesting and instead of looking at them from afar and staying on the beaten path I like to go where I think might be interesting and I've come across a lot of beautiful sights as a result.
When coming to Japan I didn't really want to teach kids classes and requested I mainly teach adults. I feel like I'm not very good with kids and that I wouldn't be a good teacher for them. This year about half of the classes I teach are kids classes. I knew it'd be difficult and I tried to keep an open mind about it. Thankfully, it's not so bad having so many kids and if anything I enjoy teaching kids more because of it. It's still hard and I have so much to improve on, but it's nice being able to play games and joke around with them. It helps make my day more fun and less work. What could've been a horrible schedule has now turned into a pretty good one. This positive outlook I think created a self-fulfilling prophecy that converted "bad luck" into "good".
Lastly, never give up. We'll always have bumps on our path to victory, but if we persevere and continue on eventually things line up toward our favor. It's just a matter of time. The ones who make it to the top are few and far between, but that's because those who made it refused to back down. They got back up with each fall and put all of their experience into practice.
With the right perspective and enough time, we can create our own luck. No need to wait for life's handouts when we can just take them through our own means.
Peace
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - SenecaThe other day I had one of those moments where I thought to myself, "oh yeah, I live in Japan". It seems so bizarre that I've moved here sometimes. When I think about how I've managed to start a new life here I think that I'm lucky. It wasn't that long ago that I was still in university wondering what I'd do with my life and where I'd go. Now I'm here with a clearer sense of where my path is headed and it feels good.
A huge factor in our success is the luck that comes from perspective. The difference between unlucky and lucky people could be boiled down to this one thing. Although I'm really enjoying my time here, not everyone is the same. A lot of my coworkers hate their situation and can't wait to move back. A major reason for this is their perspective, which can be applied in four major ways: creating chance opportunities, listening to your intuition, being positive, and adopting a resilient attitude.
In order to create chance opportunities we have to be open to and ready to accept the opportunities that present themselves before us. We can do this by looking for them and taking leaps of faith in trying new things. A lot of my coworkers who aren't enjoying themselves much aren't really being open to the cultural differences, the things they could be doing, etc. Many end up living the same lifestyle the did back home but now that they're in a different country with different values and social dynamics, things aren't matching up and the imbalance creates dissatisfaction. "Bad luck" in things not working the way they'd want them too, yet those who are embracing the cultural differences and willing to try new things are having a much better time.
Our intuition is our subconscious trying to chime in on our decisions. We store so much information in our brains that it can sometimes be difficult to readily retrieve all of the information we need when thinking a problem through. Our intuition is like a second opinion that says, "wait a minute, have you considered this?" It's this second opinion that helps us notice opportunities we may not have initially considered. When I go on hikes I sometimes see things that look really interesting and instead of looking at them from afar and staying on the beaten path I like to go where I think might be interesting and I've come across a lot of beautiful sights as a result.
When coming to Japan I didn't really want to teach kids classes and requested I mainly teach adults. I feel like I'm not very good with kids and that I wouldn't be a good teacher for them. This year about half of the classes I teach are kids classes. I knew it'd be difficult and I tried to keep an open mind about it. Thankfully, it's not so bad having so many kids and if anything I enjoy teaching kids more because of it. It's still hard and I have so much to improve on, but it's nice being able to play games and joke around with them. It helps make my day more fun and less work. What could've been a horrible schedule has now turned into a pretty good one. This positive outlook I think created a self-fulfilling prophecy that converted "bad luck" into "good".
Lastly, never give up. We'll always have bumps on our path to victory, but if we persevere and continue on eventually things line up toward our favor. It's just a matter of time. The ones who make it to the top are few and far between, but that's because those who made it refused to back down. They got back up with each fall and put all of their experience into practice.
With the right perspective and enough time, we can create our own luck. No need to wait for life's handouts when we can just take them through our own means.
Peace
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| It's not how we're born that makes us lucky, it's how we live. |
What are some things that have made your life luckier?
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