This is the 2nd in a series on the 7 skills of Inner Excellence.
How to Believe in Your Dreams
“One truth I have discovered for sure: When you believe that all things are possible and you are willing to work hard to accomplish your goals, you can achieve the next ‘impossible’ dream. No dream is too high.” – Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11
Summary:
- The #1 factor in your life that has the greatest impact on your results is what you believe… about who you are and the ultimate possibility for your life—your ne plus ultra.
- Speak the truth about the past to create possibilities in the future.
- Shoot for one second tingling feeling of excitement every day.
Last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind (the lunar landing for which my late father assisted via satellite tracking station from the island of Antigua). We got to the moon because someone had a belief that, with limited technology—before cell phones, email and internet—the impossible was possible. So how can you believe in your dreams without evidence?
Here’s two ways:
- Speak the truth about the past to create possiblities in the future.
- Shoot for one second tingling feeling of excitement every day.
Speak the Truth
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” – Solomon, 3rd King of the United Monarchy
One of the most important factors in developing beliefs in line with your goals and dreams is to speak the truth about who you are and what’s possible in your life. It’s especially important to speak the truth about the past, making sure you say everything that you don’t want to continue in the past tense. The reason it’s so important, no matter who you’re talking to—even Charlie my rabbit (well, Deanna’s rabbit now I suppose)—is that your subconscious is listening to everything you think, feel and say, ready to make a belief out of it.
The truth is, you may have screwed up incredibly in your life, or consistently struggled in various parts of your performance or life, but it’s ALL in the past. Stop carrying it with you. Every time you speak of things you don’t want to continue in the present tense (“I’m struggling with ______, or I just can’t seem to _______ (e.g. play well at night), or I’m not ______ (making any putts),” you’re taking something from the past and bringing it with you to the future. It reinforces a limiting belief.
Here’s some examples of how to speak the truth about the past:
- Today I struggled with my serve, but I’m getting better every day.
- This morning I missed some putts, but I’m one of the best putters on tour.
- The past few weeks I didn’t reach my quota, but I’m learning and growing every day in every way.
One Second Tingling Feeling of Excitement
Beliefs are feelings. We have experiences in our lives, most of which come with some emotional response, and the feelings we get from those responses creates beliefs about ourselves in those situations. If we repeatedly experience a negative feeling in a certain context—be it a piano recital, second serve in tennis, or short putt in golf—we are reinforcing (or creating new) beliefs about our abilities and freedom in that context. This is why it’s so important to stop judging ourselves, our circumstances, and our results, because thoughts lead to feelings, and feelings lead to beliefs. Watch what you think, because what you repeatedly think is leading you to your destiny. Thankfully, we can change beliefs, but it takes consistency over time. Whenever your subconscious faces a tense situation, imagination takes over and beliefs fill the mind and nervous system with the most appropriate response (that matches our beliefs).
Imagination and belief go together. The energy we consistently have in our lives is the energy we attract. Every belief has a certain energy, along with corresponding feelings. The great thing is, your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what you feel and what’s real. That’s why it’s important to learn to speak the truth—because thoughts lead to feelings— and spend time dreaming, feeling and visualizing yourself in the future, with the feelings you want to have, amidst the energy, tension and excitement of your goals and dreams. Shoot for getting goosebumps even for a split-second every day, by vividly imagining these various scenarios.
And when things don’t go your way, speak the truth about who you are and what’s possible in your life.
Let me know how it goes.
Love Jim