Often we’ve heard about ‘Self-fulfilling Prophecy’ and the resultant outcomes. We’ve heard/ read about them since The Secret hit the stands. We heard of Laws of Attraction and about thoughts changing our destiny. Norman Vincent Peale mentioned about thinking certain things that will make them appear in ones’ life. Your thoughts manifests into reality. Does it work?

We’ve sportsmen thinking about the forthcoming event and how they prepare for it. The 100 metre race is the most popular and prestigious event for an athlete. Many of the champions, including Usain Bolt, have said, and its a well documented fact, that they run the race, many times over in their mind. The start, the mid-race and the finish including the raising of their hands in the ‘V’ictory pose. They run it over and over again till it becomes part of their muscle memory.

How does it work? Well, it works at many levels.

Let me elaborate. While in the uniform, we had an excellent Commander as our boss. During the annual appraisal, the pen-picture he had written was jaw dropping. Reading it, one felt one was reading the pen-picture of FM Manekshaw. He saw the consternation on my face, smiled and quipped, “I know you’re not this, BUT I WANT YOU TO BECOME THIS”. My life was never the same thereafter. One learnt a lesson for life. Set high benchmarks. Give your subordinate an image to live up to. The subordinate strives for it to manifest. And it does.

In one of leadership training program, we had to select a name for ourselves. The only requirement was that the adjective selected should be the same alphabet as your name and preferably describe you in a word. It should resonate. That day, each one of us earned a moniker which has gone on to define our lives. We have a Vibrant Vishwas, Awesome Anu, Kewl Kerry and I was Passionate Prabir. Even after so many years the name has stuck and people call me Passionate. And each time someone calls me Passionate, I cannot but be one. What is your Good Word?

And last but not the least. Say you have an issue and you keep talking/ thinking about it. The kind of energy and neural connections you make goes on to make that habit more pronounced. Say, you are planning to quit smoking and all your efforts earlier to quit smoking have failed. And the next time you try, with a thought, ‘Oh! it gonna fail. All my previous attempts have failed. What makes you think it’ll succeed this time around?’ By such self-fulfilling prophecies you’ve already sown the seeds of failure. And the worst is, when it does fail, you reinforce it by stating, didn’t I tell you so?

Your mind is a very powerful weapon. Use it with care. Sieve the kind of information (and thoughts) that you’re planting. It is THE MOST IMPORTANT activity of your stay on this planet. Make it worthwhile. The power of your mind works when you think of (and supplant) the outcome. Images of what it’ll be like to quit smoking, for eg. You are habitually late in your official capacity. Plant a thought of being on time. Keep repeating it. And slowly the change happens. It works.