Beliefs, Values, Habits, and the Business Owner – Part 5
Mark had gained deep insight into his own beliefs, values, and habits. He was still learning to master how to change his beliefs so that his thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, which resulted from his belief system, could assist him, rather than restrict him in any way.
Mark had a very interesting discussion with his Business Coach. He had failed in securing a few sales contracts and he was concerned that this would destroy his self-confidence and therefore his performance. His Business Coach informed him that failure can have a significant impact on his belief system. Yet, this is not always a bad thing.
He explained that it is how we perceive our failures that lead to our interpretation that makes sense to us. Our perceptions are our reality, yet these are not objective, and therefore our interpretation will be skewed. Mark’s Business Coach emphasised that his interpretation can either challenge or reinforce his existing beliefs.
If he doubted himself, then the failure could reinforce what Mark believed to be true. Mark reflected on this because he considered himself to be a solid business developer and he had not thought that he could be undermining himself. In fact, he was probably destroying his chances of success by proving his beliefs to be correct. He understood that the more he failed, the more he would believe that he wasn’t capable.
Feeling rather miserable about this possibility, Mark asked his Business Coach for more guidance. His Business Coach shared another side to this interpretation:
This sounded like quite a difficult thing to do. Mark needed to determine if he had set realistic goals in the first place. And whether he had set those goals based on the beliefs that he held about himself and his abilities. If his goals were realistic, then perhaps it was his approach that needed tweaking?
Mark quite enjoyed the idea of examining his beliefs and how these impacted on his working life and business. He had been engaging in an introspective process for months, and he liked the idea that he could challenge his existing beliefs to make himself more successful.
Mark’s Business Coach felt that this positive attitude allowed Mark to see his failure as a learning opportunity which would encourage self-development. This would improve his behaviour and make him more successful in closing his business deals.
Closing deals was a necessity in Mark’s business, and he needed to believe that he was taking the right approach to achieve this.
Knowing that his beliefs were based on his values, and that his habits were formed by his beliefs, Mark revisited a time when he had defined his core values and what these meant to him. These can be seen in SA Business Coaches’ Blog defining what Values, Beliefs, and Habits are, and what these meant to Mark.
Mark stopped looking outside of himself for the answers. He knew that all he needed to know about his own performance lay within himself.
Challenging and changing his beliefs was a complicated and emotional process, as he needed to truly understand who he was and why he behaved as he did. However, the knowledge that he could improve himself based on understanding and transforming his beliefs into a strength that would aid him, not negative self-doubt that would harm him, motivated him. As always, Mark approached this challenge with zeal and enthusiasm!
If you are looking to boost how much you know about yourself, and how you can enhance your business, contact a professionally qualified Business Coach at SA Business Coaches.