You Can't Be Serious! - The Unexpected Benefit Of Trying New Beliefs

It can be a steady source of amazement that other people believe what they do.

For example, have you ever been grappling with a problem when a well-meaning but annoying person pipes up with "there's no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity"?

But, whichever way you look at it, it still behaves like a problem. You must be right and they must be wrong. It's a matter of simple truth.

If only truth was that simple. In fact, what you regard to be true is held in your mind as a belief. Hence it is to some degree subjective rather than absolute.

If this sounds a bit philosophical, let's be clear about its practical implication: we notice evidence around us that supports our existing beliefs while largely ignoring evidence that points in other directions. In other words 'we see what we believe' rather than 'we believe what we see'.

This mental bias opens the door to a powerful technique. We just need enough curiosity to ask some 'what if...?' questions. This allows us temporarily to try out the usefulness of an alternative belief - known as a presupposition - even though we don't expect it to be 'true'.

So when faced with a problem, rather than having to wrench your thinking into believing it really is an opportunity, you can ask yourself 'What if this problem is an opportunity?' even though you 'know' it is not. This gives you mental permission to look for evidence which supports the view that here is an opportunity.

The result is that it opens your thinking beyond that dictated by your original belief. You may find that your beliefs automatically begin to change and new possibilities arise for the future. You may even notice a physical sensation of lightness as the burden of old belief shifts away and tension dissolves.

If the presupposition reveals itself to be truer than what you previously thought was true, you can adopt it as a more permanent belief.

Presuppositions can come from many places; quotes from other people are a good source. Like a curry, they can range from mild to hot. Mild would be a statement which initially looks as if it is unlikely to be true; hot would be a statement that seems outrageously untrue. Their power needs teasing out - simply phrase each one as a 'what if ...?' question and see where it leads.

Here are my top ten suggestions to get you started. What if...?

1. Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing (Helen Keller)

2. It is never too late to be what you might have been (George Elliot)

3. You become what you think about (Earl Nightingale)

4. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback (Anon)

5. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure (Marianne Williamson)

6. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity (Albert Einstein)

7. There is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct mistakes (George Soros)

8. You can make yourself happy or miserable -- it's the same amount of effort (Ray Bradbury)

9. In each of us are places where we have never gone (Joyce Brothers)

10. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an art, but a habit (Aristotle)

When you next come up against a statement that seems untrue, you could just check it out with 'what if...' for unexpected benefits.


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Trevor coaches people who want to be energised, motivated and fulfilled, especially in their working lives. If you would like to receive regular articles like this one or get a FREE copy of Trevor's 'Passport To Inspiration' simply sign-up at
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