We commonly hear the complaining question from people around us, (sometimes from within us), asking ‘Why do these things always happen to me?  Other times, we seem to just stroll through a ‘Purple Patch’ and everything we touch turns to gold.

This dynamic has been called a lot through history; luck, chance, serendipity.  At ActionCOACH, we call it ‘The Mirror’ and when we understand more about it, we can find it’s more predictable and controllable in our life than we’d think.

The story is told of a father and son walking through the mountains.  The boy falls, hurts himself and screams in pain.  As his echoed scream returns, the boy is surprised and yells out to the voice to identify himself.  ‘Who are you?’ ….. and the reply comes back, ‘Who are you?’.  ‘You’re a coward!’ he screams; with the predictable reply.

Seeing his sons confusion, the father asks him to stop his anger and pay attention.  The boy’s face softens and smiles as he hears his father’s voice return from the valley: ‘I admire you’, ‘You’re wonderful’, ‘You’re amazing!’.

Seeing he’s still unclear as to what’s happening, his father sits down to explain the phenomenon and the message behind it.  ‘It’s called an echo’, he says, ‘and just like this echo, life will always give you back what you give out’

Like it or loathe it, Life is a mirror of our actions.  If I want more love, I need to give more out.  If I want more respect from the world, I need to give more respect to those around me.  Money, friends, in fact everything around us is a direct reflection of our message to the world.

When first considering this idea, it’s a little confronting.  When we accept it’s legitimacy, though and take action accordingly, it’s easily one of life’s most powerful principles.

So, how’s your mirror?