Effectiveness Habit #2: Feel good. Then Act asks you to change your mind to get better results. Tools like The Flip and The Ladder can help. Here’s another helpful tool: Tell Yourself a Different Lie. It’s a simple logic puzzle that can seem tricky at first. It works by shaking loose long-held beliefs that no longer serve you. Give it a shot; it works well.
- Start with this statement, “You cannot prove that any thought or belief is true.”
- Take any thought or belief you have.
- Test it: “Can I be 100% certain that my thought is true?” The answer should be “no.” We can say your thought is a “lie,” of a sort.
- Consider that thought’s opposite. You cannot prove it is true either.
- And now you have two “lies.” From these two lies, choose to believe the one that more supports you success.
Example: Let’s say you believe you do not have the luck you need to reach a certain goal. You even say, “I know I’m not as lucky as I want to be. History shows it.”
- See this belief as a “lie” and test it. Can you be 100% certain–even with all that history–that you DO NOT have the luck you need?” No. You can’t be certain.
- Consider the opposite belief: that you DO have all the luck you need. See this opposite belief as a “lie,” too.
- Ask yourself, “Which belief–that I have little luck or lots of luck–gets me closer to me goal?” Right, the latter, if you choose to believe it, will more likely get you closer to your goal.
- Try, then, believing you are lucky.
What’s the worst that could happen? A bit of disappointment?
It’s totally worth it.
To your continued success,
Mike