It’s always easy to blame external circumstances when you get stopped ‘your manager, lack of time, traffic, a change in the market… But if anything really stops you short in life, it’s more likely to be a self-limiting belief: a thought about yourself, reinforced by emotion. An event occurred. You drew a conclusion about it and absorbed it emotionally. This is because people are ‘meaning-making’ machines; we try to give meaning to everything, even things we really know nothing about!

We all have our own rich and personal history of events - from parents, educators, our culture, gender and work experience - and, as a result, we’ve developed our own unique perspectives on the world and ourselves. Each of us creates a unique map of what the world is like and how we fit in to it. Before long, we’re on autopilot, with these now-subconscious beliefs guiding our actions in life. Many of these beliefs help to sustain us in life, but others don’t - they limit us and our ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

What About At Work?

When it comes to working life, it is our self-limiting beliefs which affect whether we are successful and the organisation we work in is a satisfying place to be. Here are some common self-limiting beliefs:

1. I am not skilled enough.

2. You can’t trust anybody.

3. Hard work is noble.

4. Fulfilling work is for others, not me.

5. Fulfilment comes from my personal life, not my work life.

6. I’m too old to make major changes to the way I work.

7. My family and friends will think I’m crazy.

8. I’m a fraud - my success is a result of the corporate structure.

9. The unknown isn’t safe.

10. I’m not sure that I can trust my decisions or choices.

11. I’m afraid of failing.

12. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.

Your beliefs stay with you for three primary reasons: (more…)

  Posted By tyna     Sep 1, 2008       3 comments  

Many of you will be busy preparing for your children’s return to school, but what about you? Why not treat yourself to some fancy new stationary and use it to write your goals for the rest of the year.

What many people don’t realise is that those people, who write their goals down, are over 300% more likely to see them come to fruition. Those who write them down and read them daily are 700%+ more likely to have them come true. So could you! Why not start today?

You probably know this already but we have just 127 days remaining in 2008!

A lot of people think that 127 days is too short to make a difference in their lives and that there’s no way they’ll hit all their targets and achieve their goals in that time, but I hope you know different.

You do, don’t you?

This time last year I was introduced to a system by a Personal Trainer called Dax Moy who called this his ‘magic 100’ and set me about from the very first day to get as many items checked off of my list as he could. This teaches you how to write up 100 goals that excite you, inspire you and give yourself only 100 days to complete them.

By the end of my first 100 days I had achieved 81 of my 100 goals and literally changed the entire course of my life in the process. Since that time my magic 100 has been a constant companion of mine. My magic hundred experience showed me what was possible when you consciously invest your time rather than merely spending it on irrelevant and unnecessary tasks. (more…)

  Posted By tyna     Aug 25, 2008       1 comment  

See if this sounds familiar.

It’s halfway through the year. Time for a goal review. No surprises - in good shape on some, and hitting the Wall on the tough one or two. Unfortunately, those one or two always include really important stuff. They’re goals that have to be met. And yet, every time a certain point is reached this Wall gets in the way. It’s a Wall you can’t see, it’s built of things like fear of failure, fear of unworthiness, fear of lack of ability, fear of fear, lack of resources and commitment - things that keep accomplishment from occurring.

The Wall and worthy goals go together. Sometimes it’s so tempting to set easy - to - reach standards of performance. But setting goals that don’t demand stretch means accepting the status quo - the great demon of progress and success.

Notice how the Wall only appears on the truly important, demanding, stretch goals? The goals that spell real progress, real success and real accomplishment? The Wall saves itself for the really important things.

Talk to any championship athlete in any endurance sport about the Wall. Some describe it’s effect as being hit by a fist, others describe it as an irresistible force - hard to define, but even harder to move through. Every athlete has experienced it - the top ones have somehow fought through. And at the end of their challenge they are changed people - they have a sense of their capabilities that they did not have before. They have used their goal to go from hope to belief to a level of personal confidence they never knew existed.

Talk to a Navy SEAL who has endured their training and succeeded in graduating, and you will talk to a person who has found new limits to their physical and mental endurance. And they know they can go longer and further with less than they had ever imagined. They know their mental toughness made the difference - even the best conditioned will fail without the ability to keep their heads down and take one more step. One more step toward their goal. (more…)

  Posted By tyna     Aug 21, 2008       1 comment  

Your perception creates your reality. What you see is what you get. Or should I say how you choose to see determines what you get.

There is a great quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer that says - “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”. I believe that quote sums the message of this article up perfectly.

Whatever you focus on expands. If you meet someone and decide to focus on their negative or unattractive qualities, then you will begin to notice more and more negative and unattractive qualities. If, however, you meet someone and choose to focus on their positive and attractive qualities you will notice more of their attractive qualities, and they will suddenly become a very attractive person to you.

It is our choice how we choose to see and perceive things. We always get to choose how we see a person, place or a situation. Our perception determines our experience.

Life is all about perception. If you look at a homeless person, for example, and you think to yourself ‘how disgusting’, ‘he/she is so dirty’,'why don’t they get a job, like everyone else’, ‘what a loser’, etc……..

Then you will see a filthy disgusting person that is below you.

If you look at that same homeless person, and you think to yourself, ‘I send that person love’, ‘I pray that they find food today’, ‘I wonder what situation occurred in their life to put them there’, ‘How may I serve that person’, ‘I admire their peacefulness’, ‘I respect their humanity’, ‘I am one with their spirit’, etc……

Then all of a sudden they look completely different to you.You see their inner beauty, you respect them as your brother/sister, you see their humanity, you feel empathy and compassion, you see that beautiful Soul as one with yourself.

When you change the way you look at people, places or circumstances in your life, they will change. It is your choice if you want to see through fear and anger or see through love and compassion. (more…)

  Posted By tyna     Aug 18, 2008       4 comments  

How do you eat an elephant? And, you’re asking me “Why would I want to eat an elephant?” Maybe if I ask it another way: How do you eat a 1,000 pound marshmallow? Is that a little more palatable? Either way, the answer is the same: One bite at a time!

Now, I doubt that you want to eat either an elephant or a 1,000 pound marshmallow. But, do you have a big goal? Does it seem overwhelming but yet something you really want to accomplish? Is the goal so big that you just can’t figure out how to “just do it”?

This is more normal than abnormal. Most of us have some big goals, things we want to accomplish that will take concentrated effort over a long period of time. We each have our own version of the 1,000 pound marshmallow and we’ll each have to figure out how to eat it one bite at a time! How can we do that?

Step 1: Analyze

The first step is to examine your goal and determine what smaller, more managable goals will lead to the accomplishment of the large goal. Years ago I was working for a computer company that had its own huge goal. (In fact, that’s the first time I had heard the question “How do you eat a 1000 pound marshmallow”!) We were going to develop a brand new computer with all new hardware, all new software, all new everything!

Step 1 was very important because we had to know what all the pieces would be before we could plan how to put them together. Your big goal is like that too. What are all the “pieces” that you’ll need to accomplish in and of themselves before you can bring everything together to achieve your goal? This is an important part of the process, so do the analysis carefully and get help if you can’t answer all the questions yourself. (more…)

  Posted By tyna     Aug 11, 2008       1 comment