Beliefs matter more than skills
12 months ago I started writing my book Problem Hunter. It started with a rush of energy and words flowing across the screen.
A month into the project I hit a wall.
My writing was literally word vomit. 90% of it I deleted. I felt stuck and didn't know why.
Until I dived into the deep recesses of my mind and went to the first time I remembered feeling like I couldn't write. And that was in my last year of high school. Where I came dangerously close to failing English.
After that I formed a strong belief I couldn't write. And that was that. My career choices afterwards were numbers based or where I had to write I used powerpoint and just made summaries.
I had let that belief guide my career choices right up until I decided to dive in and write a 70,000 word book that was going to be made available to everyone.
I realised then I needed to upgrade my beliefs to match my ambition.
I learned that limiting beliefs can be shifted where you do three things:
Expose them - by remembering when they were formed and why
Switch them - by creating a new belief that's the opposite
Bring them (new ones) in - by creating new experiences that overwrite the old belief
I hit pause on writing Problem Hunter, and decided to write my daughter a book for her 16th birthday. Where I self published it, designed the cover and interior pages. It was enough of a passion project for me to overcome my limiting belief. As it was just for her.
I don't get to see my daughter as much as I'd like, so I was determined to gift her something unique about what I had learned, wished I had known sooner or where I been inspired by others. To help guide her life choices as she rose to adulthood.
The book is titled "My Little Book of Wisdom."
My daughter loved the book. And creating this dissolved my old limiting belief that I couldn't write. It literally was the gift that kept giving.
Yeah, I had heaps to learn, but the belief I couldn't write was replaced by the belief I could.
Which meant I was able to let go of the past and learn the skills I needed to create the new future I wanted.