A four-step process to identify limiting beliefs
I want to offer you a simplified four-step process to help identify some of the beliefs that might be standing between you and the personal, professional and business goals you seek to achieve.
Happy Sunday morning,
I feel like doing something different this week. While more tactics aren't necessarily useful most of the time, some can be very powerful. I want to offer you a simplified four-step process that can help you identify some of the beliefs that might be standing between you and the personal, professional and business goals you seek to achieve.
Beliefs dictate how we see and experience ourselves, others and the world. One person can experience a circumstance as insulting, while another sees it as an opportunity.
When our beliefs align with what we seek to accomplish, the road ahead is much smoother and achievable. When they aren't aligned, we find ourselves trying to move forward with one foot on the gas pedal and the brake pedal at the same time.
Here are four questions to help you identify possible beliefs that are out of alignment with your goals.
What is your goal?
What are you doing or not doing today that is getting in the way of that goal?
What worries you about starting or stopping to do the things you identified in question 2? Then turn your worries into commitments by creating a NOT statement…
What do you assume would happen if what you are committed to preventing in question 3 came true?
Here's an example of how someone leading a team wanting to improve his ability to delegate might answer each of those questions.
To delegate work more consistently to the members of my team.
I continuously take on and do the work myself.
I worry the work is not going to get done as quickly and efficiently as it needs to be. – Therefore, I'm committed to NOT having the work take too long and done inefficiently.
I assume that If the work took too long and done inefficiently, then it would reflect poorly on me and would tarnish my good reputation.
Pay attention to the assumption in step 4 in the example above. You can instantly see if someone believed that unconsciously, how it might be impossible or challenging for them to be successful in their goal to delegate more of their work.
If you find this process intriguing and are willing to spend a bit more time reading through this example in more depth, you can download the Four Steps to Identify Limiting Beliefs resource I created.
It's a great exercise, but on its own, it's not enough. Uncovering our beliefs is a step toward shining a light on the lenses through which we experience the world.
If we're aware of these different lenses, we can start to question and challenge them, which inherently helps us discover if they are true or not.
I'd love to hear whether this is helpful to you? Do you have any areas or topics on productivity, well-being, and personal transformation you'd like me to discuss in the future? Feel free to respond and share what comes up for you.
This four-step process is a simplified version of a more in-depth process developed by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey in their book Immunity to Change.
Is this helpful? I'd love to hear about the possible limiting beliefs you might discover. Leave a comment if you feel like sharing.
A favourite this week
Stop counting calories: An interesting article that seeks to change the way we look at calories. It's more about the quality of our calories than the quantity. Two people can eat the same amount of calories and experience very different results. Like many things in life, we need to account for our own experience as there is often no black and white answer that applies to everyone.
Quote of the week
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Attributed to Thomas Edison.
Resource
Download your Four Steps to Identify Limiting Beliefs resource.
If you've enjoyed reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing them, consider sharing it with your friends and family. I would greatly appreciate it.
Have a great Sunday and a wonderful week.
Miguel,
Sparknotion – Think Differently.