A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes. In our previous blog post, we talked about the power of our minds. Our thoughts powerfully fuel our emotions and actions, whether they are anabolic or catabolic. It’s a simple concept: if you repeatedly think you are sick and down, you’ll probably end up sick and down.
Throughout our lives, we all developed a set of beliefs. These beliefs are not neutral and are a product of our upbringing, environment, and experiences. They form our frame of reference, our model of the world through which we unconsciously judge the people and situations we are confronted with. These beliefs have been very helpful in our lives, especially to protect us from danger and harm. But they also limit us to live up to our full potential. Let’s explore an example.
If a parental figure always punished you whenever you spoke up for yourself and shared your opinion that would go against that of an adult or a respectful person, how would that affect you? Would it still hold you back from sharing your opinion with your parents once being a grownup? Would it have developed an inner Gremlin that tells you your opinion is less worthy? Would it hold you back as a junior professional from sharing your opinion during a meeting with senior management?
Try to close your eyes and think about something that shaped your model of the world in a restrictive way. How is this holding you back from living up to your full potential?
Your perspective on life strongly influences the interpretation you connect to a situation, incident, or person. The more restrictive your perspective is, the harder it is to let go of rooted prejudices. By being more aware of our frame of perspective, we can recognize and shift limiting beliefs from being a constraint to an opportunity for growth.
Here are our tips and tricks:
1. Be aware of your thought-routines
We rarely ask ourselves if there is a better alternative for our existing thoughts, interpretations, and beliefs. Unconsciously, we look for situations and proofs that confirm our bias. It’s important to know that this cycle repeats continuously and reinforces our limiting beliefs. Every day, our brains process millions of bits of information and looks for a way to handle it more effectively.
Habits, routines, and rituals are precious. They help us make quick and safe decisions, but are insidious as well. They strengthen a black-and-white mindset and offer a clear judgment too soon. They limit our perspective and potential. Become aware of your limiting beliefs. What do you judge as being right or wrong, good or bad? Which opinions make you hold you back from doing what you would like to do?
2. Try to step in the shoes of others and change your paradigm
Your truth is not the only truth. Ask others about their opinion, how they look at a specific situation, event, or person. How is this different from your belief system? Be curious about other perspectives. Try to step consciously in the shoes of others. What would the person in front of you think about it? What would the old lady in the park think about it?
Be open to accept the differences in perspective and to question your perspective. What if your perspective would not be the only truth? Being receptive for other visions and opinions helps you to broaden your perspective and create a non-judgmental mindset.
3. Let go of your ego
If you want to embrace more perspectives, let go of your ego. We all have an image of ourselves that is heavily influenced by how we want to be perceived by others. Our desperate need to be accepted by the crowd created one or more masks that represent our truth about ourselves.
If you believe you’re not good enough or better than others, you feed a toxic belief about yourself that limits your potential growth. To liberate yourself from your ego, do not compare yourself with others, neither in a positive, nor in a negative way. Discover what is important to you and be confident in your life journey.
Do you want to read more about how to detox your life from toxic energy, discover my debut book "Detox Je Leven".
If you want to work on your mindset, unlock your potential and become a better leader for self and others, I’m happy to coach you through this transition.