There’s an adage that says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

The other day, I was looking for a notepad on my desk. I needed it to write down some information that I wanted to be sure to remember later.

My desk can get kind of messy. OK, it can get very messy. Stuff was piled all over the place.

I looked and looked. No notebook.

I moved some piles around. Looked under other piles. Nothing.

Finally, I stood up. I quickly spotted the notebook right where I could see it perfectly from a higher vantage point.

On the way home later that day, the odometer on my ever reliable car hit 272, 931 miles. It occurred to me that there is another six-digit number that would logically follow that one.

And no, I’m not thinking of 272,932. But, yes, I know that number would also logically follow 272,931.

I’m thinking of another number. Figured it out yet?

Try this. Remove the comma — 272931. Does that help. No?

All right. Give this a shot. Don’t think of it in thousands. That help? No?

All right. Think of the numbers in groups of two. 27 29 31. Now you know it, right?

The number I’m thinking of is 333,537. After 27 29 31 comes 33 35 37.

When you change the way you look at the number, the number changes.

It’s often that way in life. Often a problem arises. A challenge occurs.

If we groan and fuss and gripe about it. We’re not likely to find a way to solution.

But if we focus on finding a way around, over or through the situation, we’re much more likely to solve it. We might even find a way to turn it into a positive.

There’s a great episode of a show that’s been off the air for a while called, “The West Wing.” In it, the sitting president was running for re-election. The opposing candidate was portraying the president as aloof and out of touch.

Indeed the president was a brilliant man and often came across as condescending to some. His team struggled with a way to deal with it, until finally one of his advisors pointed out that they should use it to their advantage. He said it should be a blessing to have a president with a high IQ.

The president quit worrying about looking too smart. In the next debate, he showed his intellect and made his opponent look stupid. He went on to win re-election.

Next time you’re struggling with an issue, try to look at it from another perspective. See if there’s an upside, a way to use the situation for good.

Even if the thing you’re looking at doesn’t change, you’ll change for the better.

Steve DeVane
This network marketing system helped me change the way I look at business and at life.