How you look at the world matters, because it affects how you live and who you become. The good news is that you have a great deal of control of how to view life better.
Dozens of times a day, you choose whether to see through a lens of: awareness or denial; empathy or selfishness; self-control or compulsiveness; vulnerability or pride; God’s will or your will.
The way you look at things may be on automatic, and you may not pay attention to adjustments you could be making every day. But you can learn to control how you look at the world. This will not only change your perspective, it will transform your life.
Amazingly, your cell phone can help you do it.
How to View Life Better – What You DO Control
I got into photography in my twenties. I enjoyed the things you could control with a camera to make pictures come out as good as possible.
Whether it was a desert landscape, ocean sunset, sports event, or friends, I got satisfaction from creating pictures that were as interesting as possible. Over time, I got better at controlling the aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, and film type to take a wide variety of photos.
These days, it’s amazing how good a picture you can take with a simple cell phone. You can leave the settings on automatic, or you can make changes that affect how the picture comes out.
Your cell phone can also help you change how you see the world all the time. How can that work?
Every time you use your phone, think about the features of the camera in your hand. Let them be a reminder that you can control how you view the world, and learn to make adjustments during the day. The way you see things, and the way you live, will never be the same.
What camera features can you use this way?
- Flash (lightning bolt icon) – Use as a reminder to take a daily personal inventory to put light on your issues and problems so you see things as they are rather than keeping them hidden in the dark. Tip: Increase your self-awareness.
- Timer (clock icon) – Don’t procrastinate dealing with issues or challenges you need to face. Tip: Don’t put off what you should do now.
- Tone (3 overlapping circles) – This cell phone feature uses filters to change how your pictures look. Let it remind you to not allow your emotions (e.g. fears, worries, and insecurities) affect how you see the world. Tip: Don’t let emotions affect your vision.
- Focus (tap the screen) – You can choose what you will focus on in a photo, and you can do the same thing in real life. Make conscious decisions to focus on the right things, e.g. your character, family, and God rather than pride, possessions, or always getting your own way. Tip: Focus on the right things in life.
- Exposure (tap and hold the screen) – Similar to how you can use the exposure setting to lighten or darken a photo, you can choose to see circumstances and people in a positive or negative light. Tip: Adopt a positive perspective.
- Framing (what you include in the shot) – Consciously or unconsciously, you choose what things you will include—and exclude—in your weekly schedule, as well as what you place in the center of your life. Tip: Be intentional with your calendar.
- Mode (menu) – The camera mode lets you take an artificial view with time-lapse, slo-mo, or panoramic selections. Similarly, you decide whether you will be real—open and vulnerable—rather than artificial in how you deal with the world. Tip: Be real and transparent.
- Photo gallery (picture images) – Many people spend a great deal of time looking at photos. That’s fine, but it’s a waste to dwell on regrets, glorify the past, or worry about the future. Tip: Live in the moment.
- Front-facing camera (camera icon) – We live in a selfie world these days, but you need to understand something: “Life is not all about you!” Choose to focus on God and other people rather than yourself. Tip: Be less self-absorbed.
- Taking the picture (round button) – Once you adjust the camera, you still have to take the picture. Once you know how to view life better, take action. Tip: Take the next right step.
How to View Life Better – What You Do NOT Control
There are things you can adjust to take a great photo, but there are some you can’t change. Life is that way too: there are many things you can’t control, no matter how much you may want to.
- Circumstances – When taking a picture, you don’t control the landscape, buildings, or weather that are part of the shot. In life, many circumstances are beyond your control as well. Your job is to make the best of them and make good choices. And that’s all you can do.
- People – You can dress up the people in your pictures and try to pose them in the perfect manner, but you don’t control how they look in the final shot. In life, everyone makes their own choices. You may want to control other people, but you can’t.
- Outcomes – Even when you do all you can to take a perfect picture, it may not turn out well. Sometimes you snap a quick photo, and it looks great. In life, even when you do everything right, things can still go wrong, and vice versa. Let go of your obsession with outcomes.
You control how you see the world. Even when you aren’t conscious of it, you make choices all the time that affect how you look at things, how you think, how you act, and what habits you form.
To be the best person you can be, learn to make those choices consciously and wisely. Now, you can use your cell phone to do just that.
Question: Are you willing to become intentional on learning how to view life better?
Action: Every time you use your phone, let it remind you to look at things the right way.
