Believe it or not

Believe it is real

It is up to you to choose your reality, and whether you believe you are exceptional or not, you are right. Beliefs shape the way you perceive the world, but what if you could shape your own beliefs?

Being exceptional is not about your skills or knowledge; it is about your belief system. You can choose to believe in what people tell you or create your own beliefs.

Beliefs have a structure, and just like anything else, they can be restructured if necessary.

Please note that I am not recommending delusional beliefs. Clear, consistent, physical evidence from the world is supposed to be compelling. Walking into the road in front of an oncoming bus is dangerous, and the law of gravity is immutable on earth.

We are born as part of a culture, and with that comes a set of beliefs and values, ideas about ourselves, life, and others that we tend to perceive as set and real, and at times unchangeable. So we take them for granted and never really question them. When we travel to other cultures with different, equally set beliefs about ourselves, others, and what is acceptable, or we learn NLP, we discover:

Beliefs are not set, and here is an example.

Think of stage magic if you’ve ever been in the presence of a magician. Some of us let our minds go into a childlike state while watching an illusionist perform, and some of us actually enjoy it in that specific context.

Although people know that what the magician is doing is only an illusion or trick and therefore not real, just for the sake of the experience, some decide to act as if it were real.

It is all related to the context. Most people would be wary of letting a stranger approach them in a dark alley at night to perform a magic trick. But provided you are in a somewhat safe environment, you can respond to the show, just for the sake of having a good time. And once you leave the theatre, you will probably go back to your everyday state of awareness.

The same happens with beliefs. They are contextual. In England, you can rescue trapped spiders with your bare hands with no risk (unless you have arachnophobia). It is quite safe to believe all spiders are harmless there. In Australia, all spiders are definitely not harmless, and it is best to rescue them without direct contact.

You can choose to believe in something or not, depending on your outcome. If it really matters for you to be the best at something, go ahead and believe it is possible, likely, and for you to do. If it doesn’t, then don’t.

Are there any beliefs that are holding you back? Would it be good to replace them with something else?

Furthermore, are there any beliefs you can acquire in order to become exceptionally effective?

Go ahead and try them on like a new shirt to find out if they fit. I mean it.

Exceptional Beliefs Lead To Exceptional Effectiveness

Centuries ago, a common belief was that the earth was flat. ‘Everyone knew about it’. Until one day someone decided to challenge that belief, and the rest is history.

What type of belief system do you believe exceptional people hold?

What do you think would’ve happened if Mohammed Ali didn’t think of himself as ‘the greatest’, but ‘kinda good’ or ‘good enough’?

How about billionaire Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX (as well as Paypal and Tesla Motors)? Here’s a man who believes that we should expand the reach of humanity to Mars as a way of preserving the human race. As shown on the SpaceX website:

“SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets”.

Here’s an exceptionally effective man with a set of beliefs that truly speaks for itself.

If he can do it, so can you!

Do you believe me?

That’s it for today. Now go out there and take your next step towards Exceptional Effectiveness, by reviewing your own belief system. Start small at first and see it for yourself. It will change your life, just like it changed mine.

Remember, this is practical advice, not just another theory, so do go out and try it, and let me know how you went.

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Learn more about NLP by reading our Ultimate NLP Compendium of NLP

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