I frequently ask my clients: What would happen if you got hit by a bus?
I mean it hypothetically. I want to know if they have plans for their business, how they would take care of their family, what would be the result if they couldn’t work for a while?
Often when I ask this, I think about it myself: What would happen if I got hit by a bus? Would my family be okay?
Last week I got hit by a bus.
I was going through an intersection and got T-boned by a city transit bus. My daughter, who was in the passenger seat, alerted me to the fact there was a bus coming, I looked to my left and a bus was bearing down on the SUV.
Some people say your life flashes before your eyes when you think you’re going to die, and while I saw the bus as big as a wall approaching my window before the impact, there was no flash, so I guessed I was probably all right.
The bus hit us hard, spinning us and pushing us out of its path as it cleared the intersection. Thankfully, the kids in the car and myself were uninjured, except for a few bruises and a slight concussion. The SUV wasn’t as lucky.
So why am I telling you this?
Going back centuries in most religions and cultures is the idea that if you focus on something in prayer or meditation, it can manifest itself. There are numerous movies, articles and books – including The Secret – that discuss the idea that your brain will try to achieve those things that you give attention to.
There’s science that shows that part of the brain called the reticular activating system has neurons that fire when you stimulate it with repetitive stimuli or habitation. This part of your brain gives you more of what you’re looking for.
So, for example, if you’re always focused on doom and gloom, your brain will help you find more of that which you search for. If you’re focused and stimulated by happiness, love, money, success, pain or failure, your brain will look for opportunities to present you with those things.
Now you might not believe that. You may think what I’m telling you is just nonsense. Think for a moment what happens when you buy a new vehicle. Let’s say you were thinking about buying a truck and end up buying a Ford F-150 pickup. You might not have noticed F-150s before you bought one; you were just thinking you needed a truck, but now you have a new Ford F-150.
What happens when you drive through your community?
Your brain alerts you to all the Ford F-150s like yours. Where you might not have noticed them before, now they appear to be everywhere.
The same thing can happen when we use words. We’ve all heard people say, “He’s a pain in the neck,” or “So and so makes me ill.” Continue focusing on that person and you might just end up with a pain in the neck or being ill.
From 28 years in the health food industry and talking to customers day in and day out, I came to the realization that the biggest reason for illness is stress. Much of this stress is a result of what’s going on in our mind.
When we focus on trouble, we find it. And when we can’t deal with it productively, our body starts to say “No.” We often end up ill.
Words are powerful, we can use them to build people up, but too often they’re used to inflict pain. We know how the words of others have affected our lives. Words and phrases that seem harmless, like “He’s a pain in the neck,” or “So and so makes me ill,” may not be so harmless.
Saying things like “If I ever get hit by a bus,” or “If I get run over by a car,” could be dangerous to your health and even put your life in danger.
Think carefully about what you’re saying and perhaps consider whether words that come out of your mouth are something you want to be manifested. Your brain has funny ways of helping you fulfil your dreams.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award winning business coach and a partner in the firm Pivotleader Inc. Comments on business at this time? Email [email protected]
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