Your eyes are one of the most remarkable and complex organs ever created. To this day, medical science can’t really explain exactly how they work; but through optic nerves, retina and pupil, the eyes transmit light to the brain which converts all those signals into pictures and movement.
So although we need our eyes to see through, it is actually our brain that determines what we see and perceive. Our brain actually perceives shapes and colors, and processes that information to determine good or bad, red or blue. Our brain makes judgments and decisions about how we will respond to those images sent from our eyes.
You see through your eyes, but not with them. WE determine how we will perceive and respond to what we see.
So it is with our lives. Life happens around us, but WE determine how we will perceive those things and respond to what is happening.
Let’s bring that closer to home – senior living. As leaders, we can see the economy and decide that it is still faltering, or we can see niche opportunities buried someplace inside it. We can see that seniors don’t have the retirement incomes that they had planned on, or we can uncover creative ways to find them money or make your solution more affordable. We can see new competition breathing down our neck, or we can look differently at the situation and find ways to differentiate our communities’, services and culture to give us a competitive advantage. That’s what some of our most successful clients have done and continue to do.
It’s not the situation we find ourselves in, it’s our perception and perspective that determines what we see and how we handle the information presented to us.
You already know that some of the most successful organizations were started in a recession or depression or under great challenge. Some of the best inventions in history were designed to solve challenges of the day. Success requires a different perspective and a creative solution to a problem that others can’t or won’t see. That’s what separates mediocre managers from great leaders.
Are you faced with challenges? How can you look anew at your circumstances? What challenges are you faced with in your communities or your life? Step back for a bit and look at it like an outsider. What opportunities are hidden like little gems in your challenge? Don’t be limited by what you see with your eyes, past experience or messages you’ve been told.
Give yourself permission to set aside what you see…relax, remove limiting beliefs, think creatively and develop ideas and solutions that will change your community, or maybe even your industry!
Here’s to your success as a leader!