Hi there. 

Did you know that there are 3 beliefs that are crucial for us to achieve our goals?

• We have to believe that the goal is achievable.
• We have to believe that if we don’t have the knowledge to achieve the goal it can be learnt.
• We have to believe that we are good enough to achieve our goals.

The 14th of July was Bastille day when in 1789 Parisians in France stormed the notorious Bastille prison and set a process in motion that was to change the course of history dramatically. It was the beginning of the French Revolution. The war cry for the revolution was “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite “ which means, “Freedom, Equality and Fraternity.”

1. We have to believe that the goal is achievable.

I’m really happy I wasn’t part of the crowd that stormed the Bastille. I enjoy excitement and adventures as much as the next guy but storming a fortress with pitchforks and rocks – is not my idea of a good time. While the revolutionaries were grouped in underground taverns, drinking red wine, and plotting the next day attack on the Bastille – building up the courage and enthusiasm to fever pitch levels, I probably would have been the guy in the group saying, “Erm sorry guys, tomorrows not good for me, the wife wants me to throw out the garbage, paint the house, and I’ve got a bit of a headache. I think I’ll skip this one, but please let me know how it goes…and good luck with that.”

But can you imagine the belief that they had – they were not only storming one of the most notorious political fortresses in Europe but in essence, it was an attack on the Throne of King Louis.

It was believable enough to start a revolution and dramatically shift the foundation of power and rule. Viva la France!!

 

2. We have to believe that if we don’t have the knowledge to achieve the goal it can be learnt.

To change the angle of the story a bit. The Wright brothers invented the first motorised flying craft or aeroplane. But along their journey, they encountered challenges one of which is that they couldn’t work out the correct angle for the wings to create enough lift. Just think, it was around 1903, they couldn’t google the answer or phone a local aeronautical engineer or wander down to a local airfield and look at how other aeroplanes looked, THEY WERE BUILDING THE FIRST MOTORISED FLYING CRAFT. Through trial and error, they acquired the knowledge to overcome the obstacles so much so that we now fly to space using the same principles that the Wright Brother’s imagined. The Kitty Hawk flew 4 times on the day the Wright Brothers made history. I’m not sure who flew the plane but can you imagine if it was also the day that air sickness was discovered?

“Hey Orwell, the view from up here is amazing but I’m feeling a bit queasy and I think I need to throw up!”

“Well don’t throw up on the wing, it’s a new plane and it will affect the resale value.”

“I can’t throw up into the wind it’ll go all over me, isn’t there a bag or something?”

Yup – because the Wright Brothers believed they could acquire the knowledge to fly a craft through the air – they might have created a market for air sickness bags too – but probably not.

3. We have to believe that we are good enough to achieve our goals.

We have to believe that we’re good enough to achieve our goals because if we don’t how can we expect others to believe in us enough to help us along the journey? (And we usually need help).

We live in an age where the media tells us how we should be, what we should look like and what we should own…to name a few. We also compare ourselves to others – but usually, we’re comparing ourselves to their talents and strengths. Self-belief comes from understanding who we are as unique individuals and being ok with the things we do right and the mistakes that we make along the way.

Doubt in any 3 of the beliefs will lead to distraction, procrastination and ultimately disengagement from the goal.

More about our goal-setting workshops, including self-belief development please visit Calm In Storm