Changing Your Perspective: The Lesson I Learned During my Trip to Iceland

I feel like traveling is one of the greatest teachers. You get to learn so much about different cultures and most importantly it teaches you a lot about yourself. I just got back from my trip to Iceland (my travel guide post is coming soon so stay tuned) and was taken away by all the natural beauty.

One day, when we were grabbing lunch, we started talking with the waiter. I asked her if she spoke Icelandic, to which she responded “Oh, I’m not from here, I’m from Portugal.” She had moved to Iceland nine months ago looking for work opportunities. She then went on to tell us basically how she disliked living here. She hated that in the winter they only got a few hours of sunlight. She really didn’t have anything positive to say and couldn’t wait to move.

The next day, we went on a tour to the Golden Circle. Our tour guide was a woman who was born and raised in Iceland. She on the other hand, absolutely loved living here. She told us she couldn’t imagine herself living anywhere else. She also made a comment that really stood out. She said “We Icelanders need to have a positive outlook to survive.”

I can imagine, I’m sure many might get the winter blues only seeing the sun for two hours. But it’s all about changing their perspective and choosing to see the positive. Her comment is very true though, not only for living in Iceland, but for life in general. Sometimes we all need to have a positive outlook just to survive. I thought about my own circumstances, with the loss of my husband. Choosing joy and choosing to have a positive outlook every single day is exactly what helped me survive and to continue to move forward.

I know it’s not always easy, but sometimes what you might be needing is a little change in perspective. Maybe it’s having a gratitude journal and writing down the things you are grateful for. When you change your perspective you can change your life.

Perhaps right now you might be feeling like it’s dark and all you are getting is those two hours of sunlight. My hope is that you’ll hold on and know that the summer is coming. The sun will shine again.