I sometimes wonder do I have what it takes to be who I really want to be. I know succeeding in a given field sometimes has a lot more to do with your level of interest/commitment than perhaps having specific aptitudes relevant to that field. Does intelligence have all that much to do with it, or does it not?
What I sometimes personally angst over is whether I opened up the right pathway career-wise. The real question is, did I match my career to the way my mind thinks. I think a lot; I think fast and keep my edge sharp by building strategies on available resources.
Hearing Voices in My Head? Yes, but not really. What I find is I am continually challenging my intellectual and emotional intelligence by asking myself questions. I find that asking myself questions allows my mind to kick into high gear, which drives my passion for what I embark on. Hum…while I thought this was a bit bizarre, I researched the subject and confirmed that focusing on mindset actually creates a learned optimism. This was something my father always told me. He said, ‘set your mind to what your want to achieve, and you will achieve it.’ So do you need to stop hearing the voices? According to Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck would suggest (see Got Grit? Start with Mindset by Emiliya Zhivotovskaya and “Brainset” – Neuroscience Examines Carol Dweck’s Theory by Nicholas Hall). At an even more basic level, people can counter the voices by self-training themselves in learned optimism self-talk as a founder of positive psychology and University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman would suggest (see Learning Optimism by Doug Turner and is feeling better as easy as ABC; by Nicholas Hall).
Just last week, someone told me that a business model I was working on was not viable due to a host of societal challenges required to make the model work. So I commented to another business acquaintance that I would see him at the business ribbon-cutting ceremony. The point being, my mind says I can conquer those obstacles, and so does my heart, so that drives my desire to push through any barriers and succeed.
Confidence comes not from knowing you know everything but from knowing you can handle what comes up. ~Donn King
In closing, the moral of the story, mine or any other’s… Above all, remember you are capable and worthy—just as much as anyone else, regardless of what you’ve achieved, regardless of what mistakes you’ve made, regardless of what education you have. Knowing that intellectually is the first step to believing it in your heart. Believing it is the key to living it. Moreover, living it is the key to reaching your potential.
Looking for a good book on the subject, suggested reading;
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It Paperback – by Michael E. Gerber
Leave a Reply