The murderer turns out to be a character with an innocuous exterior - the friendly, mild-mannered chap in a tweed jacket or possibly the leader of the local convent. The nice-person disguise has to be broken to reveal the true villain.



What's this got to do with real life?

When we want to be more inspired (or improve our lives in any way) many things can get in the way. There is a whole string of possibilities - difficult colleague, lack of time, low energy, the recession and so on. Yet as long as we think in these terms - that the problem is 'out there' - the real villain is in hiding.

The real villain is a tiny little thought that can slip into your mind completely unnoticed. Once there it grows and can take over your whole outlook. This small but dangerous thought is "I have no choice".

So when you face a particular obstacle and it seems that you have no choice about what to do, this insidious thought is alive and well in your mind. Because it comes in a variety of clever disguises, here's what to look out for:

1. Check your language. When you use the words "I should/must/ought to/need to" it is extremely likely that you are missing some other choices open to you

2. When you act from a overriding feeling of duty or obligation, you are in "no choice" mode

3. Beware the obvious and sensible. Often they eliminate the sense of choice

4. When situations seem too big to deal with, we can feel intimidated into missing choices

You may be thinking that there are some cases where you genuinely have no choice at all. But look again at this - no one can actually make you act or respond a certain way. As an autonomous human being, you are already choosing your action or response, although it may not seem like it.

If this seems a bit radical, stay with me for a short story.

A backpacker in Thailand who loves animals decides to take an elephant ride. She arrives on the booked day and is delighted to see the elephants led out into a clearing in the trees. She watches as one is tethered to a stake in the ground. She has never been this close before and marvels at the sense of power. In fact she's amazed that the elephant does not simply pull the stake from the ground and walk away. Instead it waits patiently.

Later she asks the handler about this. He tells her that the elephant could easily uproot the stake but never does. The reason is because it was first tethered to a stake when it was a baby and then it did not have the strength to get away. Of course the elephant never forgets, so what it learned then it still applies.

For us, the thought "I have no choice" is the stake in the ground. As you face the obstacle or challenge, you can choose to act the same as before and stay tethered. Or you can choose to act and think differently. Either way, it's your choice.

Finally here are some pointers that can help shift your thinking into 'choosing mode':

1. Focus on the outcome you want rather than what you don't want

2. Look for signs where your outcome is already visible - even if the signs are tiny

3. Modify your actions and responses to what goes on around you to amplify these signs - aim for more of them and at greater frequency

As you become consciously aware of exercising choice, the old villain will have less opportunity to sneak in and take over. Now it will be you running the show!