Success Approach #4

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

For so many of us, we fail to appreciate the fact life is about change, and yet, without realizing it, our success constantly hinges on discovering new ways of thinking. Pragmatism is something so many of us do not understand, and as a result we allow our thoughts about life to restrict us. It is the foundation for common sense so many of us surrender to. Pragmatism is a new name for some old ways of thinking, which really get us nowhere.

It isn’t that a majority of us, cannot or do not wish to see life differently. Unfortunately we are simply not aware that this option even exists. Like many other situations in life it is seen as a challenge, and so many of us simply ignore it. Thus we limit our own creative potential and joy in life.

A paradigm is a set of ideas that are used for understanding or explaining something, especially in a particular subject. Again, without realizing it, many of us can and do tend to believe only what we have been taught to believe or have experienced in the past. Collectively these experiences confirm and limit our beliefs about life. You are more important to your life than anyone else, therefore you’ve got to believe in yourself.

There’s also another way to look at this issue, for while you may indeed feel inadequate with respect to overcoming your biggest concerns, right before you is an opportunity to develop constructive ideas. These are ideas that might not only serve you but others as well. Here’s where self-confidence comes into play, for the moment you activate it, you can and should feel a better belief about yourself and your capabilities.

So where do you go from here? Still that depends entirely upon you, but one very simple approach to these challenges is to begin by identifying some of the issues that intimidate you. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil and as you wake up tomorrow morning, write down the challenges as you feel them. Remember these pragmatic challenges we are speaking about are strictly in reference to you and you alone. Even if you only recognize a few, you now have a valid starting point and so long as you are truly committed to it, you can expect some solutions to show up.