My most successful clients are better than average at keeping things in perspective. Those same wildly successful people sometimes lose perspective. It can be insidious. Others may see a change in us before we do. We become a little more pessimistic, a bit more cynical, or do not smile as easily or laugh as readily.

As the days cool and shorten in the Northern hemisphere and COVID cases are rising across the globe, restrictions are being heightened in countries from Europe to Australia, Canada, and the U.S. These factors, combined with economic impacts, the uncertainty of children attending school, etc., can contribute to a higher sense of disillusion.

We recently experienced unseasonably cold temperatures and snowfall. I found myself rather annoyed with the situation, even while clearly understanding the futility of my emotion and the fact that inclement weather is temporary and was not even an inconvenience.

At about 4 pm, I donned some warm clothes and headed out for a walk. As I passed alongside a park, a woman in a minivan pulled up to the curb. Four children, aged 2 to 8, spilled out of the vehicle and started running towards a small hill, pulling sleds behind them. The woman turned to me and said, “They have been outside all day. They are exhausted. But they are so excited about the snow. I can’t hold them back.”

It was a terrific reset for me. A change to our external environment had generated very different responses. Was theirs’ more correct? Maybe, or maybe not. But their reaction certainly contributed to greater optimism and joy in the moment. And mindset is everything.

© 2020 Lorraine A. Moore. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.

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