I Think Therefore I Am -- More Than You Know

Most of the players on the PGA Tour have convinced themselves they can't beat Tiger Woods when he is playing his best. Frequently, companies announce well in advance they are about to file for bankruptcy as a negotiation tactic, but the mindset they create all but ensures it will happen. If investors are convinced the market is failing, they dump stocks, create a run on the market and cause the self-fulfilling prophecy of a Bear market.

Can anyone disagree with these facts? Hardly. In fact, I'm sure you can think of many more personal and professional situations where the expected outcome can to be a reality.

Rene Descartes is quoted with the phrase, "I think, therefore I am." In his philosophical analysis he used that quote to prove his existence, but I think he missed the second powerful message: What I think is what I am.

For example, if you think you are creative, you'll put yourself in situations to use creative thinking, look for opportunity to take risks, and challenge yourself for new ideas. But if you are convinced you aren't a creative person, you don't respect the ideas you come up with and you fear taking risks, thereby proving you are not creative and you find solace in the routine, even if you hate being there.

I love music and can't help moving my body to it, but in high school I convinced myself I couldn't dance. I completely talked myself into believing everyone was watching me and laughing and I talked myself right off the floor -- for decades! It became a self-created obstacle completely of my own mind's making!

Ever work with someone like this? Constantly reaffirming a negative thought until that negative thought became a reality? Perhaps you can even look in the mirror and see this person?

This type of thinking, if nothing else, can teach us the lesson of what we think is what we become. There is no doubting this fact and every one of us has examples of it. So, if this can be seen easily in all of our lives, then that means the reverse of the negative thinking must also have the same self-fulfilling results.

What about in your business? What are the projects, ideas or departments we are convinced will fail before they even get started? What in your career are you accepting a routine because you have convinced yourself you can do no better?

Think of the powerful opportunity you have to reverse that thinking. You have treasures, glory and greatness awaiting you if you only start believing you are worthy of it and believe you can make it happen. Believing in itself isn't enough, of course. You have to develop skills, work at making these things happen, but if you never think they can occur no matter how hard you work, it will not become a reality until you are sure it's the outcome you deserve.

For those that really want to be better than they are right now.

Define the opportunity

Have a focus on the success you want in your life and define it, paint a picture of it, make it become more of a reality. Whether it's the promotion you are looking for, the end of the month targets exceeded, or running 5 miles in under an hour, you want to envision the opportunity.

Action Step: Write it down in as much detail as you can think of. Imagine you are writing a book and you want the reader to see what it is you are describing.