Our beliefs are our truths. They are the way things are. They are “facts,” often taken for granted. Much like those truths in the Declaration of Independence, we hold our truths to be “self-evident.” They are unquestioned. They are what we believe. They are Truth (with a capital T).
But, are they really truth everlasting? Are they really facts? Are they the way things are, to remain unquestioned? Or are they open to examination?
Our beliefs are among our strongest anchors. I certainly wouldn’t recommend throwing them to the wind, cutting ourselves lose from them without careful reflection. But, when you are facing change, when you are moving from a past into a future in an intentional way, I do encourage you to ask the question, How well are my beliefs serving me?
It isn’t necessary to ask of every belief. But it is worth asking of those that may, in fact, not be serving you well. Here is a short list of some of the beliefs that I have found clients holding that were preventing them from moving forward successfully with their changes.
- I can do it all.
- I can’t say no.
- I’m no good with technology (or languages, or math, or…).
- I can do this in X time (while always underestimating by magnitudes).
- I’m no good at selling.
- I’m too shy to network.
- I have too many years invested to change now.
- By my very nature I’m a workaholic.
- I can’t fail.
- I never succeed.
- I would have to start all over again, and I’m not in a position to do that.
- They need to change; I don’t.
- I know what I am doing; I don’t need any help.
It’s easy to see how each of these beliefs could work against successfully making a major change.
So what do you do if you have a belief (or beliefs) that are not serving you well? [Read more…]