Have you been thinking about making a change in your career for a while, but nothing has yet happened?

Could it be that some of the beliefs you hold are flawed or simply wrong?

It’s incredibly common to carry around limiting (and often inaccurate) beliefs and assumptions about ourselves and as a consequence about our opportunities in the world. 

Sometimes we develop these beliefs in childhood; perhaps our parents or teachers told us we’re bad at maths because we failed one test. We then took this as a factual truth and carried it on to adulthood, feeling certain that we’re useless at maths.

Or perhaps we were made redundant in our first job, and wrongfully connect the reason for this to a less than perfect presentation we gave while working. The new and flawed belief we have created is that we suck at giving presentations and speeches. 

In other words, our perspective on past experiences like these is often narrow, incomplete and sometimes plain wrong, yet we’re usually not conscious of this. 

Let me illustrate this with a thought-provoking exercise called the ‘9dot Exercise’:

Here’s what you need to do:

 

Join the 9 dots, using four straight lines only. Your pen must not leave the page and you may not repeat any line. 

 

 

At first, when you look at this exercise, the task might seem impossible.

Why? 

Because most of us hold on to the assumption that you have to stay within the square. 

No one actually told you that you have to stay within the square, so can you see how holding on to this belief is limiting your perspective?

No one said you have to draw the line through the middle of the dots, but I bet you assumed that.

Also, no one said you could not tear the page out and role it into a cone, tear it into three strips, or fold it.

You simply assumed all of this. 

The surprising truth is that there are actually several ways in which you can solve the exercise.

So, the lesson I’m trying to convey is this:

Ask yourself if you sometimes tell yourself any of the following statements:

 

  • It can’t be done
  • It would take too much time/ cost too much money
  • They would never agree to that
  • I’m too old

 

Getting clear on what some of your limiting beliefs are is key to overcoming them. Doing this will open up the door to countless new and exciting opportunities. 

Working with a coach who knows the right questions to ask you is one way to tap into more creative thoughts and as a result finally overcome these limiting beliefs that stop you from achieving what you really want. 

Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to know more about how coaching can help you.