There was an African king who had a best friend with whom he kept close to him. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that occurred in his life as positive and he would often say, “This is good!” Because of this, the king took his friend with him wherever he went.
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend loaded the rifle for the king and when the king fired it, it backfired and blew off his thumb. The friend as usual said, “This is good!” to which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and angrily sent his friend to jail.
All the way to jail, the friend said, “This is good.” Once in jail, every day the friend continued to say, “This is good.” The other people in jail would reply, “You’re crazy. Your best friend threw you in jail. This isn’t good.” But the friend would smile and again say, “This is good.”
A year and a half passed, and the friend was still in jail. In the meantime, the king goes on another hunting party, and they are captured by a band of cannibals. The cannibals began to kill and eat the hunting party one by one. However, the cannibals were extremely
superstitious and would not kill nor eat anything that wasn’t whole. When they got to the king and saw he was missing a thumb, they immediately let him go.
The king rushed to the jail where his friend was imprisoned, got on his knees and said, “Please forgive me. You saved my life! Thank you, thank you.” To which his friend replied, “This is good!”
“Yes, this is good for me, but I’ve wasted a year and half of your life. I am so sorry,” replied the king. “No,” his friend explained, “This is good for me too!”
“What do you mean?” asked the king. “How is it good that I sent you to jail for over a year?”
“If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you and killed by the cannibals.” (African folk tale)
Although the story is a bit dramatic compared to what most of us face on a daily basis, this story illustrates the point that regardless of what happens in life, we have the opportunity to choose our perspective. We can prevent ourselves from enduring worse or allow something better to occur. Having a “this is good” mindset doesn’t mean you won’t have challenges. It means you’ll use those challenges to push you to something greater.
“This is Good: A Journey on Overcoming Adversity” is a story within a story. A tale of how African folk lore transformed a college soccer team at its tipping point. Discover the lessons they learned and how to transform your own adversity through a new way of thinking. You’ll be surprised how quickly not getting what you want turns into a welcomed opportunity for creating better results. Join us on “This is Good” Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/203602910909706/ to help create the “this is good” moment and to stay updated about the book.
Tami Matheny is owner of Refuse2LoseCoaching. She is a Mental Game Coach and Author. Her books include: “This is Good” at: https://r2lc.com/this-is-good-a-journey-on-overcoming-confidence, “The Confident Athlete: 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence” https://r2lc.com/the-confident-athlete-4-easy-steps-to-build-and-maintain-confidence/, “Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity” https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Deep-Stories-Fables-Adversity/dp/B09MYVSLMR and “The Confidence Journal”. All books can be purchased online at Amazon. For group discounts or signed copies contact http://tami@r2l.mysites.io.
For more information on mental training contact tami@r2l.mysites.io, follow us on twitter @tamimatheny and @r2lcoaching and visit our website: https://r2lc.com.
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On Facebook join the groups: The Confident Athlete: https://bit.ly/3yV1VuV, This is Good: https://bit.ly/3yUKH0T, Parents and the Mental Game: https://bit.ly/3AQmcCI