When I train kids and youngsters in Ju Jutsu I, from time to time, hear the expressions “I cannot do that”, “I am no good at that”, “That is impossible”, “I can never learn that”, and other similar things. The other day when I was in the dojo, I had to stop the whole group and remind them about their language and their attitude.
I told them that they should never say to themselves that they cannot do something. Especially when it refers to things that others obviously can do. Of course, they are also able to do them, after some practice.
To quote Henry Ford; “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” There are things out there that may seem impossible, but they constitute just a fraction of things that we are doing on a daily basis. Therefore, anything is possible with some training, continuity, and resilience.
Instead they should say to themselves; “I can do it! – I can do it! – I CAN DO IT!” Are they not telling a lie then? No, they are telling the truth, maybe not in the present, but in the future sense. They will be able to do it if they believe in themselves and in what they are doing.
The other thing that I told them was that they should never say or think anything about themselves that they do not wish to be true. I told them to focus on the positive side of things, and also on themselves. If you tell yourself “I am no good”, you could start to believe it, and this will not help you to accomplish things.
You should fill yourself with positive affirming messages that help you, not to ruin your efforts.
What I told the kids in the dojo, applies to you as well, it also applies to your organization. If the individuals in the organization do not believe in themselves, they also have a hard time believing in the organization’s skills and abilities.
An organization with low self-esteem will not be able to meet the future challenges in a positive way. It will result in a tough situation where the individuals will have to work even harder and under pressure. That will only work for a short while.
Now I am talking about the organizations culture again. It is important that you make it a rule that you talk about issues in positive terms. It is always possible for your business to accomplish things, if you set your mind to it and believe in those things and in yourself. You have to believe in yourselves!
You should also have a rule that you never say anything about yourself that you do not wish to be true. It does not mean that you should not talk about things that are a subject for improvement. Those issues should of course be handled in a creative way and within the designed processes. Every process that is designed must have that built into the management layer of the process.
There is huge difference between nagging all the time about things that are wrong, and discussing them in a way where you look for solutions.
If you can create a culture of confidence at all levels, and a positive self-talk you can accomplish things that are not on your current radar screen.
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