Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Thoughts, Beliefs, Behaviors

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to NOTICE, and because we fail to NOTICE that we fail to NOTICE, there is little we can do to change; until we NOTICE how failing to NOTICE limits what we think and do."

~R.D. Laing

I wanted to start out with this phenomenal quote by R.D. Laing that I heard speaker James H. Blackburn of SURVE Partners recite today, more than once - in fact, about a handful of times.  Have you ever heard the saying about when we hear something the first time we REJECT it and by the seventh time we ACCEPT it?  That's probably why he recited the quote so many times - at first it was obvious that the majority of the business owners in the room didn't get it or weren't ready to accept the reality of the spoken words.  After a few minutes of shared discussion we were all on board.  Being on board is the first step, but actually creating the action steps necessary to CREATE new thoughts, new beliefs and new behaviors is the hard part.

Developing new thoughts, new beliefs and new behaviors is imperative when making changes in any area of your life.  Here's an example about how thoughts, beliefs and behaviors are related to each other.  Sally owns a small business and has approximately 10 clients a month.  She earns a $60,000 income.  Sally says, "I am a $60,000 business owner, I want to be a 6 figure income earner?"  FIRST, Sally must change her thoughts and personal belief system about herself.  She just SAID that she is a $60,000 income earner.  What do you think Sally will earn next year if she believes that she is a $60,000 income earner?  It's not enough to WANT something - you must think it, believe it and change your behaviors.

A few tips:
1.  People don't resist change, they resist the loss of familiarity.
2.  New knowledge doesn't result in behavior change
3.  Lack of clarity causes struggle
4.  Surround yourself with people who are growing
5.  Nothing is permanent - everything you do is preparation
6.  What you focus on grows

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