"All things are ready if our minds be so!" Henry V Act IV Scene III
In Shakespeare's play Henry V, the king gives a rousing speech that inspires his men to fight valiantly against 5-1 odds. Before Henry spoke, the men were complaining that the odds were too great and they needed more men. They even wished each other well in their journey to what they saw as certain death. After the speech his cousin Westmoreland states, "God’s will, my liege, would you and I alone, without more help, could fight this royal battle!" Such is the power of a change in perspective.
What changed in this scene? The odds remained the same. The circumstances hadn't changed. What changed was the men's thoughts. They were inspired by Kind Henry's speech. When we change our thoughts, we change the outcome.
Ask yourself, "Why am I choosing to think that?" in an open an curious way. No judgment. No correction. Just open curiosity.
When you first discover this concept, you may immediately try to change all your thoughts from "negative" to "positive" so that you can feel better.
That's not the point.
The point is to notice where you are right now, discover what you're thinking, and be curious about it. Just look at your mindset and what it is creating in your life.
Is it creating outcomes that move you forward or keep you stuck? If you feel stuck, look a the thoughts that may be creating that outcome for you and be interested in why you may be thinking them. Ask yourself, "Why am I choosing to think that?" in an open an curious way. No judgment. No correction. Just open curiosity.
When you look at your thoughts you can make a decision. You can choose to keep the thought if it is one that benefits you. You can choose to let it go if it doesn't benefit you. It is a powerful practice to discover what you're thinking. It is a powerful practice to choose the thoughts that benefit you.
What thoughts are you choosing that benefit you this week?
