Picture 1. Looking through a magnifying glass changes the perspective of your view
(image source: Wix media)
I was watching the news this morning whilst getting ready to go to work and noticed two particular stories. The first was around Novak Djokovic receiving the Laureus World Sports award. The second story was about a man in Ghana who was making a business out of recycling tyres and making bespoke furniture to sell.
The common theme was one of belief. Both men referred to their everyday beliefs in making their transformations and accomplishments possible.
It strikes me that this is more than just a coincidence. In fact it is rare to find a “high achieving” individual who doesn’t make some reference to beliefs as part of their recipe for success. However, it also strike me that this is one of those statements which the rest of us have heard so many times as to not really give it much credence, or even.
So what is “belief” and can it really transform your life?
The Oxford Dictionary defines belief as:
An acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof.
Something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion.
In my life coach training and my personal study around life, there is a lot of reference to an individual’s beliefs and how they shape our model of the world. This model ultimately governs our expectations and guides our behaviours. But these beliefs can both work for and against us in achieving our desires. I personally believe that “anything is achievable in life”, but amazingly at another level I believe that “my hard work does not make any difference to the outcome of the task”. The latter one I tracked back to one particular school project which I worked harder on than anything else I had ever done only to get what I considered to be my usual mark. It seems ridiculous that I could hold such a belief and so strongly based on one experience in my childhood – but I do.
The point here is that we all have different beliefs, some of which we have constructed off our own experiences, but the majority of which we have had handed down to us by our parents and culture. As in my example above these beliefs can be in direct conflict with each other and that is when we find it hard to make progress.
The good news is that these beliefs can be identified, challenged, and even replaced with new ones that do work for you. You can essentially recreate your thoughts, words, deeds, and ultimately your experiences through recreating your beliefs and model of the world.
It takes time and perseverance, just like training a muscle, but if you are consistent in reinforcing the new beliefs then “anything is achievable in life”.
Good luck out there and have an unbelievable day!
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