Empowering Beliefs

Last weekend I attended a Personal Coaching training event organised by the Coaching Academy. It was simply brilliant and I met lots of new people. Some people were there to improve their coaching skills in their work, and others in their roles as life coaches like me. 

The speakers were extraordinary and on fire. Some of them had gone through redundancy and realised that coaching was the right thing for them. Others had realised that they wanted a career change and taken a course. Apart from Personal Coaching, the trainers covered a wide range of types of coaching such as Confidence, Performance and Small Business Coaching. 

We talked about limiting beliefs, which essentially are beliefs that hold you back, stopping you from taking the next step towards your goal. An important part to get to your goal is to overcome those beliefs. Limiting beliefs are things you tell yourself that hold you back and stop you from taking steps towards your objective. 

The way to challenge limiting beliefs is to invent new empowering beliefs which help you take action and replace them. Here are some examples: 

Limiting belief (LB): "I won't perform as well as other people".

Empowering belief (EB): "I am not better or worse than other people". 

LB: "I don't have enough money to do xxx." 

EB: "If I don't have enough money right now, I will find a way to get more."

Do you have any limiting beliefs? How could you replace those with positive, affirmative statements?

During the training session, I noticed a quote at the bottom of our workbook page:

"Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can't, you're probably right." (Henry T. Ford)

We might as well believe that we can, right?

Who are you?

In 'Masterclass' Jay-Z once mentioned how he spent hours writing rap lyrics as a child. His mother often pointed out the importance of hard work to get somewhere, and he always pictured this being getting a job and study hard.

However, one day he realised that all the time he had spent writing rap lyrics, listening to rap etc. was actually work. He just didn't see it as such, but more like an interest or a hobby.

Do you have a hobby, something that you spend a lot of time on? If so, that could be your work, preparing you for something greater. Perhaps you've thought of all those hours in the garden or baking as just something you do for fun? Well, you could earn money having fun, because it is a passion that God has put in your heart.

I attended a development day session for women during which we were asked to create an action plan for our careers. There was a lady there who during most of the workshop, repeated that she didn't know what to do and issues with family commitments. Towards the end of the workshop, me, a colleague and her were put in a group to discuss our plans.

The above mentioned lady suddenly mentioned how she used to make over 60 cookies for her kids' school and get up early to bake bread and cakes in the morning. The rest of us were surprised at finding this out but encouraged her to tell us more. It was clear what this woman loved to do: baking! And surely, at the end of the development day, she had transformed, her facial expression turned into a smile and she excitingly exclaimed: "I am a baker!"

What do you look forward to? What feels fun and effortless? And most importantly, who are you?