Beliefs are just like ideas

We have an abundance of them; some are valuable, some useful, and a few are flat-out terrible.

They link together; one can build on the premise of another.

A few can take so much importance and blind our ability to consider new ones.

Some stand the test of time, while others quickly become outdated.

Some manifest in the physical world, while many remain hidden in our minds.

And for best results, it’s best to validate them before pursuing them.

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The thing about beliefs is that they almost always go unchallenged. Once adopted, they are hard to see and even harder to divorce.

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace, and our beliefs are becoming obsolete quicker than ever and more dangerously so.

At the heart of innovation, fail-fast is a strategy to decrease the number of bad ideas and increase the number of great ones. It doesn’t pay to keep working on poor ideas; it’s costly.

Holding on to limiting beliefs is costly too. They can keep us from doing what matters most: switching jobs, pressing the publish button, starting that presentation, saying yes, saying no.

Should beliefs be any different? Why not vet them as we do our ideas?

A few simple vetting questions we can ask ourselves:

• Is it yours? Was it passed down to you by family, friends, teachers, mentors, etc.? There are also generational beliefs to consider.

• Is it fact? Is it objective fact or your subjective interpretation?

• Is it fear? Fear can make us believe nearly anything. These are often irrational and not fact-based.

• Is it useful? What was once helpful may no longer be valid or applicable today.

Much like ideas, it's less about generating the best ones and more about knowing how to spot the bad ones.

Miguel,
Sparknotion – Think Differently.

Further reading: a four-step process to identify limiting beliefs