Changing Your State of Mind

Your State of Mind

This week, while working in Singapore, I've observed two interesting conversations with people, which have prompted me to remember the importance of our state of mind.

The first conversation which alerted me was when I hailed a taxi to take me to a training workshop. I told him where I was going and he asked  why I didn't take the MRT, the local underground train system! I pointed out that I had a suitcase packed with 10 heavy manuals and video camera equipment as well as my laptop, so I didn't feel like lugging a heaving load up and down the MRT's escalators. He then proceeded to ask me the usual Singapore taxi driver interrogation questions:

"Where you from?" he enquired.

"I'm from the UK." I responded.

"Ah UK. You from England ...... you like Manchester United?" asked the taxi driver. Singaporean taxi drivers are addicted to the English Premier League football, especially Manchester United and they expect all British people to be avid football fans too.

"No I don't like football." I sensed an end to this part of the conversation.

"When you go back?" the taxi driver gnarled in his Chinese, Singaporean accent.

"I've lived in Asia for over 10 years. I've lived in Singapore for 8 years." I retorted and couldn't contemplate explaining to him that I also live in Bali.

"Singapore so boring lah," the taxi driver grumbled.  

"Singapore can be exciting, you just have to make it that way." I found myself continuing to give examples and sell the excitement of Singapore to the taxi driver.

"No, it's boring. When I make money, I go Malaysia. You can drive long, long way."

Admittedly, Singapore is only a small island and you can't drive very far before you end up in the sea, but a move to Malaysia will not necessarily change the taxi driver's state of mind. He's already habituated to thinking this way. So many people wait and hope that one day their life will be more exciting when they have enough money or retire, but why wait?  We can adopt a state of mind where we can enjoy life in the now and enjoy the process of working towards our goals. We can all mind the gaps we create, simply by changing our state of mind.

My second, much more uplifting conversation was with a good Swedish friend of mine who works on a contract basis with a reputable Swedish multinational. This lady's state of mind was so different to the taxi driver. She told me how she loves her job and is so pleased to be given the role of an internal Leadership Coach. She hopes that her contract will be extended to a full-time, permanent role. The words she was using enhanced her state of mind to be resourceful and powerful.  It was inspiring and refreshing to be with this person. Her upbeat and positive state of mind was infectious. I'm sure the organisation she is currently working with will do what it can to ensure they continue to employ her, as she has such a motivated state of mind.

We can change our state of mind by changing the words we use to ourselves and the words we use with others. By changing our words we can change our thoughts. We can make washing up, doing the ironing, paying the bills, doing a boring job or living in a boring place exciting. We can even turn around our health for the better, if we apply the right state of mind.

Will the taxi driver discover excitement rather than boredom?  Does he really want to wait until he can afford to retire and live in Malaysia? Why wait if he can find excitement now, simply by changing his state of mind.

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind."
Wayne Dyer - motivational speaker and author

Change your state of mind and change your life. There are no limits to what we can do.

Find out more about how to empower your own thinking by attending our NoLimits NLP Business Practitioner Certification programme this June by clicking on the NLP link on this blog.

Janet