Do you have fears that limit your ability to move forward? Maybe this piece from history about Dragons may help you better understand those self limiting beliefs.
Centuries ago when maps were created by hand, cartographers (map makers) would leave an area near the edge of the parchment blank.
Within this area, dragons would be drawn to separate the known world from the unknown.
These etchings would serve as a warning about crossing into unknown territories.
Of course, human nature being what human nature is, early explorers do not view this just as a warning sign, but more of a prophecy which then created a self limiting belief keeping them from exploring further and discovering new lands and peoples.
Dragons became real in their minds and they feared facing them.
Thank heavens there were always those ready to push the envelop or in this case the parchment and challenge the dragons.
In fact some were so bold such as the Vikings that they actually carved dragons onto their mastheads.
These adventuresome explorers had fears, but did not allow those fears to limit their opportunities.
We all have mental maps laced with dragons.
These maps or better yet memories from our experiences guide us as we embrace each new day.
How we choose to deal with these dragons of the mind is 100% within our control.
As noted in the book God's Little Devotional Bible, Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
The quote from this book and the story truly resonated with me because how often do we allow those FUD moments - Fear Uncertainty and Doubts - drive our decision-making process and we potentially place our faith and beliefs in our own abilities and talents behind those fears instead of in front of them? Within my executive coaching and consulting practice, I often use this acronym for Fear - False Evidence Appearing Real.
When we allow fear to rule over our own talents (provided we know what those talents really are) we may have a tendency to look back at all the terrible things that may have happened to us instead of truly looking forward no matter what we see ahead of us.
For it is the present and the future where we actually reside not in the past.
Our believe in who we are needs to come first:
Henry Ford said it best: "Whether you think you can or you think you cannot, either way you are right.
"
Centuries ago when maps were created by hand, cartographers (map makers) would leave an area near the edge of the parchment blank.
Within this area, dragons would be drawn to separate the known world from the unknown.
These etchings would serve as a warning about crossing into unknown territories.
Of course, human nature being what human nature is, early explorers do not view this just as a warning sign, but more of a prophecy which then created a self limiting belief keeping them from exploring further and discovering new lands and peoples.
Dragons became real in their minds and they feared facing them.
Thank heavens there were always those ready to push the envelop or in this case the parchment and challenge the dragons.
In fact some were so bold such as the Vikings that they actually carved dragons onto their mastheads.
These adventuresome explorers had fears, but did not allow those fears to limit their opportunities.
We all have mental maps laced with dragons.
These maps or better yet memories from our experiences guide us as we embrace each new day.
How we choose to deal with these dragons of the mind is 100% within our control.
As noted in the book God's Little Devotional Bible, Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
The quote from this book and the story truly resonated with me because how often do we allow those FUD moments - Fear Uncertainty and Doubts - drive our decision-making process and we potentially place our faith and beliefs in our own abilities and talents behind those fears instead of in front of them? Within my executive coaching and consulting practice, I often use this acronym for Fear - False Evidence Appearing Real.
When we allow fear to rule over our own talents (provided we know what those talents really are) we may have a tendency to look back at all the terrible things that may have happened to us instead of truly looking forward no matter what we see ahead of us.
For it is the present and the future where we actually reside not in the past.
Our believe in who we are needs to come first:
- Before the human fears of false evidence appearing real
- Before uncertainty and
- Before doubt
Henry Ford said it best: "Whether you think you can or you think you cannot, either way you are right.
"
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