Have you ever used one of those two-sided mirrors? On one side there is the normal reflection, and on the other is the ultra-zoomed-in, micro, super up-close-and-way-too-personal view of all the pores, hairs, and grossity-gross stuff.
In this view, it’s easy to get trapped in the ugly.
There is wayyyy to much focus going on and it’s too much detail to deal with on a daily basis.
That view is the view of what makes life hard to deal with.
It’s the day-to-day stuff of life.
It’s the kids who throw more dinner on the floor than they eat.
It’s the bills that never, ever give you a sense of being on top.
It’s the colleague who insists on holding late afternoon meetings.
It’s the lady who cuts you off in traffic,
and the man who rams you with his trolley.
It’s the friend who is more frenemy than friend.
It’s #LifeTax.
It’s the micro of life that, if observed incessantly, can wear you down and put you in a continuous melancholic, dull state.
The hack is to flip the mirror to the macro, zoomed-out reflection.
Do this daily.
Take a step back from the micro to see the macro.
All that you’ve achieved to date. List them.
Beautiful kids.
Health.
Employment and income to pay for those bills.
Education that you’ve achieved.
Wonderful relationships.
Grace.
And, it’s all the things you’re aspiring to achieve. List those too.
Upscaling life.
A new job.
Increased health.
Completing your studies.
The ability to pay those bills, buy food, pay your rent/mortgage.
Spirituality and faith.
A better version of yourself.
If you can train yourself to see the macro even when you feel stuck in the micro, it makes the shitty-shit of life easier to deal with because you can see how each day accumulates into what you’re aspiring towards.
Macro-micro-macro. Daily.