A quick personal development tip today, inspired by a comment on my post about Minding Your Language. Something that really helps me in my on-going personal development and self-improvement is to spend some time every now and again challenging my beliefs about things. It’s something that I’ve picked up along the way and it is to ask myself the simple question, “Is the opposite also true?”
Actually, this question has uses well beyond simply challenging your beliefs, it can help you to get the measure of ideas, thoughts and goals that you may have. When do I use it? Well quite simply, I use this particular gem as often as I remember to. Sometimes I’m great at it, other times, I forget! Most often, I use this when I have an important decision to make, or when I find I am making a judgment about someone or something.
In NLP there is a presupposition that everyone has their own unique view of the world. This is so easy to forget when we are communicating or working with other people. To have something handy in your mental arsenal to throw in when you need it is so useful and helps keep you one step ahead of your automatic judgments.
Sometimes I’ll catch myself defending one of my opinions or beliefs about something so energetically and enthusiastically. It’s such a strong defense that I really try hard to question and challenge myself to ensure that I really feel that way about it. In doing this, sometimes you’ll make really huge breakthroughs that will un-stick your thinking and help you move past obstacles that you never knew existed. Other times, it will really help you to understand another persons point of view, without actually changing or shaping your own.
Try it, have fun with it and remember to challenge yourself as often as you remember to do so!