One of the most common pieces of advice I see when reading tarot cards is “change your perspective”. Change your outlook, alter how you look at things, etc. I end up echoing that sentiment a lot when asked for advice outside of readings too.

For me, this isn’t just about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes or seeing through their eyes and motives. It’s also about changing how you look at something. It’s allowing the change of hope and optimism to take a front seat. It’s giving yourself, and others, the benefit of the doubt.

I’ll be honest, that’s very easy to say and very hard to do. Some people just want to be misunderstood or are angry for perfectly good reasons and they’re too frustrated to explain what seems obvious to them. Other people are more logical and reasonable or are thinking of the bigger (or smaller) picture. And some people are just assholes.

I find the easiest way to change your perspective for yourself is to alter a daily habit you don’t think about but it slightly “negative”. This doesn’t mean the habit itself it negative but rather it’s something that you know you shouldn’t do or prefer you didn’t do but still do anyway.

For example, since I work from home and rarely see people for more than ten minutes a day, more than half the time I’m in lounge clothes. Which is a really fancy way of saying sweats and/or leggings and a cute tee. But it gets old after a while and after a week of rain, work, and the same kind of clothes, I’m looking for a change and might pull on a cute dress and heels. It’s a little thing and doesn’t really affect my day in the end but the change is personal and it wakes me up a bit. Like a cup of coffee for the soul.

Here’s another example. I know someone who is addicted to a particular soda. They drink it everyday and they drink at least one 12-ounce can each time. They even got into the habit of keeping it near the bed when they sleep so it’s the first thing they drink when they wake up. But they don’t even taste the caffeine or sugar anymore. It’s just there because that’s what you do for them. They didn’t stop that habit but instead started keeping water nearby and every time they took a drink of soda, they also took a drink of water. In the end, they started picking up healthier habits and cutting back on the soda. That single move altered their day only slightly but it made a much large impact.

Make no mistake. Changing your perspective is HARD. You have to admit that something’s wrong or something could be better. Often times that something is you.

This is why self-introspection (and shadow work) is so important. It allows you to look at yourself and your life and analyze it. It gives you the opportunity to change where you’re going and what you’re doing. So many people do the same thing on automatic, without thinking about what they’re doing. Changing your perspective allows you to look at those habits and decide if they’re best for you. You may not be able to change anything, at first, but you can make a plan of action.

That’s some of the best advice I can offer: change your perspective. Allow yourself to think outside of the box, outside of your emotions, outside of the logic and see what others are seeing. It can make a greater impact than you realize.