There’s Nobody Out There!

Before boarding my plane at the Phoenix airport, I went to Starbuck’s. I noticed that the young woman behind the cash register looked sullen so I attempted to cheer her up. Reading her name tag I said, “Jessica, I know you have a tough job. I really appreciate your being here so I can have coffee and a bite to eat before boarding my plane.” Handing me my change she gave me a wan smile as she shared, “My job’s not hard. It’s the customers I have to deal with that are a problem.”

As I walked away, I thought, “Which came first—the sullen look or the difficult customers?? My guess is the former.

Your world is a giant mirror that reflects back to you what you are putting out. Some of you spend hours upon hours setting goals, developing strategic plans and plotting how you want your life to be. All that is important but no matter how much you want something, if you are not in alignment with it, it cannot come to you.

I was not a difficult customer for Jessica. I thanked her and told her she was important. And yet, when I was at the coffee bar pouring cream into my coffee, I looked over at her and saw the same sullen expression. Human beings would rather be right than happy. Even though I had provided an opposing data point to her outlook, she refused to use it to alter her point of view. Believing that customers are a pain, the world will continue to mirror back to her that sullen expression. It will be on the face of everyone she encounters even if she’s the only one who can see it!

The Law of Attraction dictates that you get more of what you focus on. The world mirrors to you whatever you are focused on. This is why some days it feels like you should have stayed in bed and others feel like everything you touch turns to gold. It all has to do with your focus.

My friend Jeff had a day like that recently. First he found out that instead of having to pay a huge dental bill for work he needs done, his dentist said he would waive the fee if Jeff would consent to having the procedure performed with a camera in his mouth so dental students could follow along and learn how to do the procedure themselves. Then his medical doctor took him off medication because his condition had improved so much. And finally, he shot an 82 in his golf game! It didn’t surprise me. I had been there days before when he was feeling badly about all three areas. I watched him as he struggled and then surrendered to the circumstances saying, “It will all work out. It always does.” Trusting that life would treat him fairly, it wasn’t long before the world mirrored back to him that which he was putting out.

Surrender is a funny thing. The moment you give up the struggle, things start improving. Again, think of the mirror. When you are struggling, the world reflects back to you struggle. Not only are you focused on your own, you find all sorts of evidence that “life is like that.” Oh, what martyrs we can be!

Remember what grandmothers are famous for saying, “If you look for trouble, you are sure to find it.”

Whatever it is that you want more of, begin now to project that into your world so that it starts coming back to you right away.

Do you want a more appreciative boss? Start appreciating yourself, your co-workers and your boss! Then catch your reflection in their behavior!

Do you want a kinder world? Take every opportunity to extend your hand in kindness and catch your reflection as others are kind to you.

There’s nobody out there, my friends. You are looking at your image reflected back to you. And you can change that image in the blink of a smile.

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