Do you feel like you are going round and round the maze and there is no way out? Have you ever thought how much our beliefs can hold us back or – with the right beliefs – move us forward? Our self limiting beliefs only exist in our mind but they can be so powerful that they basically imprison us. I want to thank Dr Spencer Johnson for the inspiration for this article, and if you have never read “Who moved my Cheese” or the follow up book “Out of the Maze”, then I can highly recommend these to you.
If we accept a limiting belief, then it becomes a truth for us. The belief is so strong that we totally believe it to be true, but what we believe to be true is not necessarily true.
We are going through unprecedented times as I write this article, and everything is changing, so how do we react in times of change? How do we adapt? Do we adapt? When we are so used to something always being there and it is no longer there, how does it make us feel? Cheated? Full of despair? Frustrated? We should not always believe that just because something has always been there, that this will always be the case. Things change. The challenge is most of us get used to our comfort zone that we struggle to think outside this zone. We don’t ask ourselves, “What if this was not always there, what would I do?”. I am regularly advising business owners that we constantly need to ask ourselves the “What if” questions. It’s what keeps us thinking outside the maze, or we will find ourselves going round and round within the maze never believing there is an “outside the maze” life.
What about trying a new belief? Do you believe that the beliefs you have made you who you are? If you change a belief, does that change you? “A BELIEF IS A THOUGHT THAT YOU TRUST IS TRUE. IT DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE BUT IT DOES HOLD YOU PRISONER”. We don’t like it when someone challenges our beliefs. We resist changing our minds. We feel offended when anyone suggests that what we are thinking may not be true. We resist changing our minds because we feel threatened. We don’t want to change our beliefs because we like them. It feels safe. Choosing a new belief can energise you . “You are not your belief. You are the person who chooses your beliefs”
So how do you get out of the maze? You firstly need to get rid of all your old baggage. It is weighing you down. Notice your beliefs – remember they are only thoughts that you trust is true. Don’t believe everything you think – sometimes facts are just how you see things. Let go of what isn’t working – You can’t launch a new quest with old baggage. Look outside the maze – Consider the unlikely, explore the “impossible”. Choose a new belief – changing what you think does not change who you are. There are no limits to what you can believe – you can do, enjoy and experience a lot more than you think you can.
For help to get out of the maze and change the way you think, email richard@lionheartmanagement.co.uk, or call me on my mobile 07798 632173. I am happy to speak to anyone who needs help fighting those battles.
This article was first published on LinkedIn by Richard Knight on 20/06/2021