I TRULY TRULY TRULY believe that you get what you see. What I mean by this is if you use a negative lens to view a situation, it’s going to appear negative to you. If you use a positive lens, the situation will present itself in a more positive light. Our thoughts and perceptions are so freaking powerful.
I know, I know. It’s so easy to talk the talk when it comes to this stuff. It’s much harder to walk the walk. Especially when you’re involved in said situation (or I should say when your baby is the key player).
And I must admit, as much as I believe in ‘getting what you see,’ I sometimes defer to a less positive reaction to start. I’m working on it though!
Case in point…
Last week we learned Kaiden’s transitioning to the older infant room at school at the end of the month. He’ll have more space, more structure, school food (eventually), friends who are also very mobile, etc. All good stuff, right?
When I opened the school folder and read the news, my very first thought was, “Oh man, Kaiden’s really going to miss his teachers. My poor guy is going to be so sad.”
I’m 99.999% sure my initial thoughts stemmed from the fact that this is how I felt almost every year when moving up grades and switching teachers. Goodbyes have never been easy for me.
Anyways, Vishnu’s reaction was the complete opposite of mine. I texted him the news when we got home, and he said, “Woah!!! Big news! That’s good. It’ll help him develop.”
His initial thoughts, if you ask me, probably come from the value he places on growth and adventure.
Two parents, same situation, different perspectives.
After meeting K’s new teachers and the school director, I’m now super excited about this transition as well. K’s current teachers have been taking him to his new classroom for 30 minutes a day, and they tell us he loves it! In fact, he cries when it’s time to leave.
Moral of this story – even though it’s hard (especially when our experiences condition us to think a certain way), always look for the positive spin. The benefits of doing so are endless. And your baby will thank you…kind of!