energized. inspired. engaged. Curt Rosengren Passion Catalyst TM
HOME | COACHING | SPEAKING | RESOURCE LIBRARY | TESTIMONIALS | BLOG | ABOUT CURT
     
FUEL! (Fully Energized Life) Newsletter

Back to FUEL! newsletter archive

QUOTE

Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.

- Alan Alda

7 QUESTIONS TO BLAST PAST DREAM-CRUSHING ASSUMPTIONS

Mark Twain once said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." In our lives, we might also say, "I have encountered a great many impenetrable obstacles, but most of them never existed."

So many people spend their lives limited by assumptions that are either only partially true or completely untrue. The assumptions typically bring dreams to a screeching halt through some variation on this theme: I want to [goal/dream], but [limiting assumption]. So, for example, they end up saying things like, "I want to change careers, but I'm too old."

Assumptions are necessary. Without them, we would need to evaluate each and every little choice we make. But when they create a wall that doesn't actually exist, it's time to blast past them. Here are some questions to help you do that.

Is that true?

You would be amazed how often we treat a limiting assumption as a cast-in-stone reality when in fact it's just a projection from inside our minds. Questioning the basic validity of a limiting assumption encourages you to take the glasses off and check what the world really looks like.

These three words - "Is that true?" - have the potential to dynamite the assumptions that keep us stuck and open a world of possibility.

Can I prove it?

When you hold them up to the light of critical examination, limiting assumptions often wilt. Their rigid black and white view just doesn't stand up to the test of reality.

Try to prove that the assumption is true. If your basic assumption is that, "I can't change careers because I'm too old," set out all the reasons that being too old means a career change is impossible.

Most often, you'll find that it's easy to find a bazillion reasons why a given situation makes your goal challenging, but much harder to find reasons why that situation absolutely, no-exceptions, unquestionably makes it impossible.

How can I prove that it's false?

Another spin on using critical analysis as a tool for blasting past your assumptions is to try to prove it false. Challenge yourself to find ways to prove the assumption wrong. Make it a game to see how many reasons you can find why that assumption isn't 100% true.

How could it be different? What are alternative ways of looking at this?

When you make an assumption, you create a picture of "the truth." Step back and ask, "Is there any other way of looking at this? Could there be another 'truth' here?"

How could I get to a place of possibility?

Often, limiting assumptions are only "true" when we look at them from a static perspective. If I want to start a business, but I have no money, "I want to start a business but I don't have the money to do it" might be true at this immediate point in time. But life isn't static. It's fluid and full of movement.

Instead of looking at the assumption only from the viewpoint of the here and now, explore what steps you might be able to take to reach a place where possibility looks realistic.

So instead of looking at your bank statement and throwing up your hands in defeat, you might ask, "How can I get access to the money I need to start a business?" That might include waiting and saving up money, finding a partner, or getting a loan.

Why do I think that?

Sometimes the key to blasting past your limiting assumptions is understanding where they came from to begin with. If, for example, you can see that an assumption has its genesis in an experience that is either no longer relevant or only offers a partial picture of reality, it is easier to let that assumption go.

Who has proven this wrong? How did they do it?

If someone else's reality has proven an assumption wrong, it's a little hard to hang on to it as gospel truth. Not only do these two questions help you shine a light on how the assumption is inaccurate, they also help you learn more about how to get past the obstacles that assumption is based on.

--

Time for a career change? Launch it with
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

 

FUEL! is a free bi-weekly newsletter packed with ideas and insights on creating a Fully Energized Life.

Subscribe now
and receive a bonus FREE
6-part "Wild About Work" audio course
to help you create a career that energizes and inspires you!


Ready to discover
a career you love?

Click here
to get started!


Time for a career change?

Launch it with
The Occupational Adventure Guide!

Need to
re-energize your career?

Start with
101 Ways to Get Wild About work!

 

CONTACT | SITE MAP
 

© Curt Rosengren, 2000-2009
Passion Catalyst, Wild About Work, Occupational Adventure, Occupational Adventure Guide,
FUEL Check Personal Energy Audit, and The M.A.P. Maker are service marks of Curt Rosengren.
Trademarks pending.