Changing Our Perspectives Can Improve Our Lives

Key points

One's perspective can change with concerted effort.

To wallow in self-pity is a recipe for sadness and negativity.

It's important to focus on our betterment instead of what we are lacking.

Expectations are planned disappointments.

I grew up with a mother who wallowed in self-pity, yet I viewed her life as charmed, without major financial concerns, and surrounded by those who loved her and cared for her. She was taken care of by my father and her own mother, who spent every day at our house. When Nana Bea wasn’t helping with dinner preparation and anything else that was needed, she rested in the down-feathered green armchair next to my mother’s king-sized bed. The piece of furniture was inhabited by my grandmother during the day and my father at night, before he went to slee