A while back I watched an interview with Oprah and Deepak Chopra, where he related about his experiences of being on a “monk’s journey” for 2 weeks in Thailand.
Despite having to endure many hardships during this time, the part he found most challenging was walking barefoot through the villages in paths that were rocky and full of bristles and thorns at times.
When discussing this with another senior monk, his guidance through this challenge allowed Deepak to learn one of his most valuable lessons yet: “Yes, walking barefoot can sometimes be painful, if what you put your focus on is the foot on the ground. Notice however that you also have another foot that, at the same time, is not touching the ground, which feels very good. At the end of the day, you can either choose to place your attention on the foot that’s hurting, or the one that’s not.”
I love this story so much, because we can apply it to so many aspects of our lives. When presented with challenges, we can choose to look at the positive and opportunity that this may bring, or focus on the inconvenience, the pain, and the struggle that this new experience could potentially present. Same external circumstance, yet complete different internal response. And it all comes down to which lens you choose to look at the situation with.
I can tell you first hand, choosing to look at whatever challenge comes your way with “the good lens” will bring you much peace and will enable you to navigate through those times with much more ease than if you were focusing on the bad. So, next time you are faced by a challenge, or if you are facing one right now, ask yourself: “What lens am I using to view this situation?”. And if you are using the wrong type of lens, ask yourself: “What good can come out of this? What lessons will I learn by going through this? What is it that I’m not noticing that will allow me to view this situation positively?”
¡Por tu éxito!
Isabel x
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