Here in the US we just experienced a federal government shut down and it is easy to point fingers, “Those people in Congress don’t know what they’re doing,” “Why can’t they come to an agreement?” or some version of that.
I think it is more valuable to look inside your own life
and ask, “Where am I shut down?” By “shut down” I mean not open to a conversation for a new point of view, not willing to consider that your perspective is wrong or not working. Or said another way, so sure you are right that you have stopped listening to others. All you hear is blah, blah, blah when anyone with a different perspective speaks and you’re just waiting for your turn to talk (by the way, it’s likely that all your opposition hears is blah, blah, blah when you speak too).
If you are like the hundreds of people I have worked with over the past 25 plus years, you probably are thinking, “Not me. I know other people like that but me, I am open minded.” And you probably are in lots of places however, I promise you, in the places where you are not producing the results you want, not experiencing satisfaction and fulfillment, not free to be, YOU ARE SHUT DOWN.
We all have those places in our lives. The things we are so sure about. The things we would bet our lives on. I recommend examining those areas. You do not necessarily have to give up your point of view if it is working, i.e., your point of view is producing the results you want in your life.
If you are like most people you are likely unwilling to examine those areas. Why? It’s how you know yourself and giving up the deeply held belief would be a threat to your identity. I’d like you to consider the key to breakthrough results in your personal and professional results is letting go of the beliefs you are most unwilling to. It’s what is holding you back.
You may not know how to stop believing it.
For you, it IS a certain way. First, you have to be willing to let it go. Then it is helpful to have an objective individual (like a coach) work with you to discover the impact of the belief on your life and then to create a new way to look at it. This is not positive thinking or as I like to say, “Putting frosting on dog food.” It requires an authentic discovery about what your shut down is costing you.
If you are someone who is genuinely up to the task of examining what doesn’t work and ready to produce outstanding results, contact me for a free consultation. I work with a select few individuals each year. Let me know if you want to apply to be one of them.
