The Big 4 energy blocks keep you stuck and prevent you from achieving what you want in your life. We’ve already explored limiting beliefs and interpretations. Today, let’s look at the third energy block: assumptions.
An assumption is a belief that is based on the premise that because something happened in the past, it is automatically going to happen again.
When you make choices based on your assumptions, you are letting the past control the future. Assumptions hold you back because when you already “know” that something won’t work, you probably won’t even consider doing it. Even if you do attempt it, you won’t have a lot of energy for, or be engaged in, what you’re doing, since you don’t really believe it can work. When you hold on to your assumptions, you miss out on many possibilities.
Imagine this scenario: A new salesperson has delivered five sales presentations and none of the prospective clients have decided to buy her product. If she makes the assumption that she is not good at presentations, it’s unlikely she’ll put her all into them. And, even if she does end up presenting, the self-sabotaging catabolic energy she transmits concerning her assumed ineffectiveness—not the quality of the presentation itself—may actually be what turns off her potential clients. Without realizing it, her chosen energy becomes the self-fulfilling prophecy that her assumption is correct.
Here are some typical assumptions:
- If I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done right.
- My kids are lazy and unproductive.
- I’m no good at interviewing.
- No one listens to what I’m saying.
Because assumptions are primarily based on personal experience, they are internalized and emotional, and often even more difficult to challenge and let go of than limiting beliefs and interpretations. Delving deeply to remove the emotion of the past experience may be necessary before moving forward.
The main question to ask when challenging an assumption is simply “Just because that happened in the past, why must it happen again?”
The next time you just “know” that something won’t work based on your past experience, recognize your assumption for what it is, question it, consciously choose to let it go and to take positive action.
In the next Energy Leadership post, we’ll go on to gremlins, the last of the Big 4 energy blocks.
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