Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of people branch out into new territory to discover their YIPPEE. They’ve started new businesses, switched careers, learned to love their old jobs, sold their companies, taken sabbaticals and, in many other ways, made huge life shifts that changed the trajectory of their lives forever. And one thing I learned in all of these changes…
If you let your fears and limiting beliefs guide you, the endeavor often falls short of reaching the yippee of your dreams.
There are times to start small. I call this make a little, sell a little. But there are other times when what is required is: “go big or go home”.
Letting your insecurities, need for control and other such limiting beliefs drive your new endeavor, will lead you down a path of failure that would, in turn, justify your fearful beliefs.
Here are a few examples of fearful beliefs. If you recognize them, you are not alone!
- It’s safer to stay small and in control.
- I may not have what it takes.
- If I’m going to fail (which I’m afraid I will) then at least it will be inconspicuous.
- I don’t have the right degree.
- So and so has much more experience and knows more.
If we persist in letting our fearful beliefs guide us and play small, we will likely exhaust ourselves and fall short of our desired outcome. Often when this happens, we do not blame the (business) model, but rather we blame ourselves.
What can you do to make sure your limiting beliefs aren’t driving your next big leap?
Considering A New Endeavor? Five Questions to Ask Yourself:
(Remember to ask them in this order)
- What are the results or outcomes I want?
- Why is getting that result important?
- What are the strengths I bring to the situation?
- What are the assumptions I’m making?
- Are all of these assumptions true?
Number Five is a doozy. We often believe in our limiting beliefs as if they were a religion. But if we can open that door and question our assumptions, we can see what’s holding us back.
Starting a new endeavor can be tough because all of our insecurities pop up and they seem so very TRUE. But if you can sit down, take a breather and ask yourself these questions, starting first with what you want rather than what you fear, then you will be sure that (false) limiting beliefs are not in the driver’s seat!
Until next Tuesday!
Elizabeth
Sometimes we need to hear a lesson again before we can let it sink in fully. This is a blog revisited from January 2013 – Are You Letting Limiting Beliefs Guide Your New Endeavor?