Among the many reasons you will succeed or fail, none more certainly determines your future more than your attitude about yourself and your place in the world.
When I began to realize my music career was collapsing many years ago, I was terrified. And in this state of terror, I did two things: I worked harder at music and “tried” to get a job. On the one hand I was grasping at what I knew and hoping that it would work and on the other hand, I was half-heartedly seeking employment that I hoped I wouldn’t need. Needless to say, neither one worked. I couldn’t build a career on grasping and hope. I also couldn’t find a job that I didn’t want.
The turning point came when I decided to face the fact that I had to get a “real job”. Once that decision was made, I had an excellent job in about 2 months. In hindsight, I’ve realized that the only thing that changed was my attitude. There weren’t any new opportunities to pursue, I just suddenly saw them. I didn’t wake up the next day with revelations about my resume, I just finally wrote one. And the world didn’t think any differently about my abilities, I did. My beliefs about myself and my place in the world shifted, and my world changed as a result.
What about you? Have you considered your beliefs about yourself and your place in the world. In Beliefs that hold you back, Patricia Soldati takes a look at beliefs, the effects they can have, and the power you have to change them.
“So what Is A belief? Think of it as a thought reinforced by emotion. An
event occurred. We drew a conclusion about it and we absorbed this
emotionally. Each of us has our own rich personal histories of events –
from parents, educators, our culture, gender, etc. – and, as a result,
we’ve developed our own unique perspectives on ourselves and the world.
It doesn’t take long before we’re on auto pilot, with these
now-subconscious beliefs guiding our actions and outcomes in life.”
She does an excellent job of explanning how we make vows that empower our beliefs. First, we make the vows – “I’m not good at auditions.” Then we selectively use evidence to back what we “know” to be true. Lastly, we live we them like old friends.
“But beliefs can be changed. While a belief feels very real to
the believer, they are not absolute – they are a learned frame of
reference. When you have a genuine willingness to replace a belief with
something new and empowering, it is entirely possible to do so.”
This brings us to two questions:
- Are your beliefs holding you back?
- Will you work to change them?
The answer to the first question is yes – no matter who you are or what you think about yourself, your beliefs are holding you back (even extremely positive beliefs can be detrimental; ever heard of the term egomaniac?).
The answer to the second question is up to you.
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