What do you believe?
When you first hear that question you probably think about religion. Then you might go philosophical and/or moral. But those things are just the tip of the iceberg of what you believe.
Really they are probably not the most important beliefs you have. They may be foundational, but they aren’t necessarily affecting where you are going in life. A debate for another day.
Today I want to help you find and examine beliefs that do matter.
The Exercise
Get a blank sheet of paper and at the top write down one thing that you want to do or accomplish, but you currently aren’t doing it. This can be a goal, a task, or any action you aren’t taking.
Go ahead, I’ll wait. When I do this live, I give people 30 seconds.
Ok now I want you to quickly write under it a list of the reasons you aren’t doing it. You’ve got a minute. Don’t spend too much time thinking, just write them down as quickly as you can.
Done?
The Interrogation
Now let’s examine some of these reasons. Because these “reasons” are why you aren’t getting what you want.
Bastards. Let’s interrogate them a little.
Firstly, ask about each of them: Are they true?
Sometimes just writing it down and looking at it shows us we’re full of crap.
Cross those out on your sheet and in your mind.
Secondly, pretend a good friend has the same goal and brought that list to you. Which beliefs suddenly seem pretty subjective? What would you tell your friend if that was what was holding them back?
If you really want to attack these show the list to a friend and ask their opinion on them. You may be surprised.
Thirdly, ask the beliefs that are left: “Does it really matter?” Is that thing really keeping you from getting what you want? Or do you know of people who’ve gotten what you want but still had that problem? Can you imagine ways to get what you want and not change that problem?
There are lots of ways to question our limiting beliefs. It will be a reoccuring theme of blog posts in the future here on Distinctions For life, but this is a good start.
How to Overcome Your Obstacles
Let’s assume for the moment your reasons are valid at this point. Now they are obstacles and the question becomes, “How do I overcome this obstacle?”
This too is a large question with a bunch of different answers. There will be many distinctions about how to overcome specific kinds of obstacles. But here’s a basic and quick one.
Many obstacles require you to change. You need to learn something, gain some information, do some research. Others require you to gain and perfect a skill, these require training and time.
In all those cases you need to figure out what you need to do, make a plan and work the plan. Often you’ll need to consult an expert to help you make your plan.
Better Beliefs Are Key
One of the things I want you to take away from this exercise is you’ve got beliefs that you may not even be aware of. Beliefs that are holding you back.
Now you have a tool to help you figure out what beliefs are at work in your life and holding you back. In the future there will be more tools for figuring these things out.
But all we did here was get rid of some bad beliefs. You can find positive or better beliefs you need to add to you mind. We’ll talk about those later, but for now ask yourself, “What things, if I believed them, would make doing this a lot easier?”
One thing many people believe they can’t do is….
Photo by Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash
