Your teachers insist on a degree for a good job – the only way, they say. Family and friends doubt your passion project. The news paint a grim picture of current affairs, leaving you feeling powerless. Colleagues dwell on the boss’ flaws and predict company doom.

“Just because the crowd roars with a certain belief doesn’t make it truth.” -Rudiano

Why do we believe these things? What makes them ring true? Could we be wrong? The truth is, we’re conditioned to think one way or another.

Let’s break this down and see how you can take control of your mind.

We Think What We’ve Been Taught

We adopt thoughts from those we see as authorities. 

1) Parents: Our foundation. Language, self-esteem, identity, and worldview largely come from them. 

2) Teachers, Peers, Bosses, Mentors: We trust them to shape our thinking, but they’re fallible, like us. They can be wrong.

We’re Not Always Taught Right

Authority figures can be sincere but mistaken. Parents might miss our talents, teachers might omit crucial lessons, giving us a skewed perspective.

Case in point: I was taught that academia was the key to success. I loved learning but felt frustrated with the prospect of a life spent in theory. It felt pointless. So, I stopped midway through my Master’s. I wanted to experience life!

In hindsight, a degree hasn’t been the success magnet it was supposed to be. In many ways, it failed to equip me for life in the real world.

“Life isn’t about memorising answers, it’s about taking action, making mistakes, and adjusting your course along the way. “-Rudiano

Relatives or educators might unwittingly instill is us the belief that we are lacking, destined to fail. Such negativity can be tough to shake off.

But experts can be wrong, even in their field. A few examples:

 1) Les Brown was misdiagnosed as mentally challenged. It took effort to shake off this given identity but he did, and became a successful entrepreneur and speaker.

 2) Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile run, achieving what even scientists deemed impossible at the time.

3) Experts once said there was nothing left to discover in physics – only to subsequently witness the discovery of the atom, then of DNA.

4) Experts initially predicted a global market of no more than 5 computers – a far cry from the current 1.5 billion PCs around.

Imagine if we only listened to “experts.” There would be no innovation, no ground breaking ideas and much less joy. We’d be small-minded cynics, living small lives, suffocating the human spirit, impeding progress.

“Sometimes the heroes that built the old stand in the way of the new”-Vusi Thembekwayo

Yet, we internalise expert voices without question, letting them stifle our potential. We become self-fulfilling prophecies.

The Truth

Henry Ford said” whether we think we can or can’t, we’re usually right”. We will act accordingly.   Thinking we can’t leads to giving up.   Thinking we can leads to persistence until we find a way to win.

I’m not advocating recklessness. Think strategically, realistically like the Wright brothers who defied gravity with their flying machine.

Whenever you hear (from others or yourself) that you can’t do something you care about, ask yourself why. Don’t just accept it.

You control the thoughts you dwell on. Specific thoughts lead to specific beliefs, which lead to specific actions or inaction.

You have more control than you think. You can be positive when others are cynical. Start by monitoring your thoughts.

Monitor Your Thoughts

Whenever you feel negative or think you can’t do something, just think:”That’s interesting… Who is speaking? Experience or expert?”

Whatever the case may be, it’s just an opinion. Do you have current data to back it up?

“Your best thinking from 5 years ago is your outdated baggage today”-Daniel Priestley 

Counteract with positive, empowering thoughts.  I hope you can find a lot of inspiration here in the coming weeks and months.

If you’re curious about my creative endeavours, check out https://rethinkcreative.online/

For insights on the business side,  check out https://rethinkentrepreneur.com.

Reflect,  Redefine,  Rise!

R.