In a recent workshop we were reviewing some of the ground rules before we began with the day's lessons. I wrote in huge letters I A K T and asked the group to consider putting aside their IAKT.
IAKT stands for I already know that. And, in many cases it is absolutely true. How many time management courses, supervisory skills refreshers, or goal setting workshops must a person do in the course of a stint with a company? I always say that repetition is key, however, what about doing what we already know how to do?
If we already have the skills, talent, and knowledge to do almost any task required of us in our jobs or personal lives, is that enough? You've had all the best sales training, can list the steps of closing the sale front and backwards, and yet our sales sheet still suffers. You've been to ump-teen management trainings with certifications hanging on the wall, yet you still have that acute problem with one or two employees' performance.
On the flip side, why do we continually do things that produce results we don't want? Prime example - losing weight. So we say we want to lose a few pounds and our doctor is on our case about it too. We really want this. Then we end up at a friend's birthday bash and down a piece or two of cake and ice cream, too. Our friend says "I thought you were on a diet." "I am." "Then why'd you eat all that cake." "I don't know." And, it is true - most of us DON'T know why we do the things that we know will get us results we don't want. Oh my!
When the going gets tough, how do the tough keep going? There seems to be something that stops us in our tracks, just when we think we're sailing along doing fine.
There is such a something. The cause of our problem in not doing (or doing) what we says we want lies in paradigms, or habitual ways of thinking. Paradigms are neither good nor bad; they just are our mode of thinking. They can stop us in our tracks or keep us poking along at 20 miles an hour when we could actually run along at Mach 10!
We need to change our paradigms if we're not getting results we want. Change the paradigm, change the result. Once you understand how your paradigm functions, then you can start taking control of your thinking and the subsequent results you obtain.
What's a paradigm?
Paradigms are your mindsets; your ideas, the habits that your brain has developed over the years. You look at the world through glasses that are tinted with your paradigms. I have ski goggles that have a yellow tint so that the mountain terrain is enhanced and I can see where I am going much more clearly. Likewise, a pair of UV sunglasses block out some of the rays that we don't want. However, if I have glasses that are totally opaque - I am really stuck! So like a filter, our paradigms can let in or block out - what are we missing, what are we refusing to see, what do we imagine seeing that stops us due to our paradigms?
Paradigms in and of themselves are neutral - not good, not bad. If your paradigms are positive like my yellow tinted ski goggles that let me go wherever I want in the snow, you will have a happy, growth-oriented life, a healthy self-image, and the ability to adapt successfully to changes, upsets, and unforeseen events. On the other hand, negative paradigms can keep you stuck in old ways of thinking that can be very limiting.
How to change your paradigms? It takes thought, faith, an open mind, and repetition.
• Write down one thing that you have not yet resolved in your life. Perhaps it is a goal, a dream, a hope or wish. Write it in detail.
• Write down connections that you associate to this thing; everything you think about it, good and bad, everything that the thought of it brings to your mind. Try using a mapping process - write the thing in the middle of a page and write the connections around it. When you feel like you've come up with an exhaustive number of connections, look at what your mind has shown you. These are your paradigms.
• Highlight and focus on the most powerful paradigms, the ones that have the biggest negative impact. Ask yourself why and why again. Really check your beliefs on it.
• Finally, now that you know what your paradigm is for this scenario, write an affirmation that will help you to change the current paradigm something that is the opposite. For example, if your paradigm is you'll never be able to quit your job and start that dream business because you're scared of going bankrupt, your affirmation might be:
I am so happy and grateful now that I am working full time in my business, serving my perfect customers and money comes to me on a continual basis through multiple sources. I now have all that I want.
• Write your affirmation on a card and repeat it daily, as many times as possible. In time, you'll begin to notice yourself thinking and acting in a different way.
Now you have a better understanding of why we KNOW what to do to obtain greater results but seldom actually DO it. To learn more on changing your paradigms, go get the full guide at http://www.millerinstitute.com
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