“What would happen if you did do it?”

Adam Rice, the 231st person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, often reframes people’s thoughts in his work with AJR Counselling, Coaching & Consulting.

“What would happen if you did do it?” is a powerful question, because, sometimes, when we tell ourselves we can’t do something, what we really mean is we’re choosing not to do it, because it’s hard or inconvenient. This might seem insignificant, but it’s not, because by applying the wrong label, we establish a false belief. 

Words are powerful, because they shape our thoughts, which then influence our actions, which then determine our results. So when someone like Adam comes along and uses different words, that can ultimately move your life onto a helpful new path.

Of course, words can also affect you negatively. When Adam left school, he had dreams of being a doctor, but his well-meaning parents told him to do an apprenticeship instead so he had something to fall back on; he could then do medicine after if he wished. So Adam gave up on medicine and became a chef instead.

Later, Adam became a nurse and then a mental health clinician, before starting his counselling practice in 2014. Adam has since opened two other businesses – Better Life Ranch, an equine therapy provider, which he runs in tandem with Sarah Rice, and the AJR International Academy of NLP, which teaches NLP (neuro-linguistic programming).

I really enjoyed meeting Adam. He’s smart, interesting and self-aware. He also reminded me of the power of words, and how we need to take great care with the stories we tell ourselves.