Are you a HOSTAGE of limiting beliefs?
Jean-Francois Cousin
Global Executive & Team Coach, MCC ? Keynote Speaker ? Author ? Former Chairman, ICF Global Board
Before 1954, doctors and scientists agreed it was impossible to run a mile under 4 minutes, and many actually believed you would die trying.
Roger Bannister did not believe so, and was the first athlete to run a mile under 4 minutes. Most interestingly, in the next twelve months, dozens of athletes decided to try as well and did run the mile in under 4 minutes...
What we think and believe will affect how we behave and perform.
As D.H. Lawrence wrote,
“The mind can assert anything and pretend it has proven it.”
Which ‘limiting beliefs’ hold you back from moving forward towards Greatness? They could be:
- Excuses (“I have put on so much weight that it’s too late to start doing something about it”)
- Negative Thinking (“it’s too risky to trust others; I have been disappointed enough times”)
- Justifications (“the economy is down; it’s not the time to look for a career change”)
- Perfectionism (“whatever I do, it’s never good enough” or “no need to try if I can’t do it to perfection”)
- Past Failures (“I have tried that already, it did not work out”)
- Beliefs inherited from family or education (James Redfield, in ‘The Celestine Prophecy’, interestingly refers to ‘childhood scars’, and notably how ‘interrogator’ parents may generate ‘aloof’ behaviors in a child, or how ‘intimidating’ parents can bring about ‘victim’ beliefs in their offspring, such as “I am not good enough”, “I am not worthy of love” or “I am not worthy of belonging”)
- General Assumptions or Beliefs (“people will never support such a change to their routine”)
Can you do something about them?
Lewis Carroll challenged us to try, in "Alice in Wonderland":
"Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said.
'One can't believe impossible things. I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen.
'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!"
Uncover your limiting beliefs
May I invite you to identify which beliefs hold you hostage, by answering the questions below?
- What excuses am I making time and again that stop me from doing more good to myself and others?
- What negative thoughts often come to my mind and defeat me? What is my ‘inner-critic’ frequently telling me? Would I talk to anyone else like my inner-critic does to me? If not, why listen to it?
- What justifications do I make up for not doing ‘the right things’?
- When am I being a perfectionist although it does not matter? Why?
- Which past failures stop me from trying again or moving ahead? How useful is it?
- What general assumptions or beliefs or pre-conceived ideas about how things should be or will happen am I allowing to hold me back? (they may be quotes or catchy slogans, religious or cultural beliefs, black and white philosophies, etc…)
Then go out to discuss your limiting beliefs with a trusted friend and explore together
- where they come from,
- how / when they hold you back,
- whether you could… ‘thank them’ for whatever good they may have done for you, and then let go of them,
- adopt more empowering beliefs and ideas instead, which shall propel you along your journey to Greatness
Keep in mind Bertrand Russell’s aphorism, "I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong”… Now please reframe your limiting beliefs into empowering ones, and move forward!
You still have a moment?
(or is there a limiting belief still telling you you don't?)
Why not listen to the story of an elephant who suffered so much from her limiting beliefs?
Here is the audio-track of Chapter 4 of the fable in 'Game Changers at the Circus: how leaders can unleash Greatness in their organizations'.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Next week, you can read the real story of Gary, a factory director and a singular gentleman: always impeccably dressed (cufflinks and designer ties) superbly organized, perfectly punctual. His office? Clean as a hospital, files on shelves in flawless alphabetical order, and on the shiny glass-table in the middle, you will notice a rectangle lined with a color red-tape reminding you where to place the LCD-projector’s remote-control after use. Zoom-out further and visit Gary's factory, employing several thousand workers… Just like his office, it is immaculate, in perfect "5 S" order, and you will spot the dustbins parked within color red rectangles painted on the floor.
Is Gary's plant a paradise then?
Not even close… if you ask the supervisors they will tell you:
"IT'S-HELL-HERE!”
Says one of them: "operators don't volunteer for over-time anymore, and behave more and more like if they were our bosses; we are so tired of it all."
Stay tuned next week to find out more about Gary, his factory and his team's outcome...