In terms of achieving any personal desired outcome, there are three things that you need to believe if you are to stand a good chance of success:

1. Possibility:

It is possible to achieve the outcome.

2. Ability:

You are capable of achieving the outcome.

3. Worthiness:

You deserve to achieve the outcome.

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Possibility

Belief as to whether something is possible is not only restricted by personal beliefs; there can also be cultural beliefs that prevent us from achieving.

For many years before Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile it was considered an impossible task. Yet in May 1954, the impossible was made possible as Bannister ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

Once the belief that it was possible had been created, only 6 weeks later an Australian rival called John Landy took an incredible 1.5 seconds off Bannister's record. Amazingly, within a year of Bannister's record-breaking achievement, a further 36 people broke the 4 minute mile; and within 2 years over 300 people had achieved the so called 'impossible task.’

The point of the story is that as human beings we all have our own limits - we just don't know what they are!

Ability

Rarely do we over-estimate our own ability. More often than not it is our own beliefs that get in the way of our true potential.

We tend to take our beliefs to be facts when they are often either wrong beliefs or just generalisations about how things might appear at a particular moment.

These beliefs can be created on the flimsiest of evidence. On occasion it may take only one or two occurrences for us to create a belief that something we've done (a behaviour) can become something we do (a belief).

In a sporting context, examples of this might be the following:

"I always miss penalties"

"I'm rubbish at bunker shots"

"I never jump a clear round"

"My backhand is useless"

Each of the above quotes may have been created as statements of fact in our heads, when actually each may have only occurred on either one or a couple of occasions.

The danger is that they act as mental handcuffs on our actual ability, so if you do tell yourself you can't do something, put a 'yet' at the end of the sentence. In our minds this allows us to rationalise the situation and understand that we can improve it.

Worthiness

Only we know whether we are worthy of achievement. It can happen that someone believes an outcome is possible and that they have the ability to achieve their desire but they don't feel that they deserve to.

This belief can be just as destructive and is often related to low confidence or self-esteem.

The point is that you DO deserve to achieve your outcome and if you do not believe it, then there are ways to change this.

A Game Changer says…

The three things you should be able to say to yourself in order to test your self-belief and achieve your desired outcomes are:

"This outcome is possible"

"I have the ability to achieve this outcome"

"I deserve to achieve this outcome"

If you feel congruent when you say the above three statements, then you have the belief. If you feel incongruent, then you have a limiting belief which must be dealt with before you can achieve your outcome.

These beliefs allow us to change the way we think, feel and behave.

These beliefs can affect positive change.

These beliefs can improve our results.

The Map Is Not The Territory

If you look at a map, it does not actually consist of the territory it represents. It is merely a representation.

This is EXACTLY the same as our version of reality. The world we live in is made up of billions and billions of bits of information. This information is filtered and re-constructed by our brain. We can picture an event, we can hear it, feel it, taste it and smell it but we CANNOT represent an event exactly as it exists.

Therefore, two or more people can witness the same event and yet recall that event differently. This is a powerful concept to take on as it means that if we are not happy with what we are experiencing, we don’t have to change ‘reality’, we simply change the map!

Experience Has A Structure

Every thought or memory that we have has a structure or pattern. By changing the structure of a thought or memory it changes our whole experience.

This can be done by changing our internal representation of our experience.

If One Person Can Do Something, Anyone Can Learn To Do It

By modelling successful performance, anyone can achieve excellence. By establishing how a high achiever thinks and operates, we can replicate similar results.

People Have All The Resources They Need To Succeed

There is no such thing as non resourceful people, there are only non resourceful states.

If someone tells you they have ‘zero confidence’, the chances are that this only exists in one particular area of their life, not in everything. Therefore, confidence IS a resource available to them.

The Meaning Of A Communication Is The Response It Gets

Because we all filter information differently, we all possess a unique model of the world. For this reason, what we communicate may actually get a different response to the one we intended.

Therefore, when you get frustrated with someone for not understanding, you can alter your communication to achieve the desired result.

There Is No Failure, Only Feedback

This is a great way to see the world. It is also very useful in a sports context because if you believe there is no failure, then there can be no fear of failure, which is a massive positive when performing.

Whenever you do something, you get a result. Sometimes it’s the result you desired, sometimes it’s not. When the latter occurs, it’s so easy to say ‘I’ve failed’. People who excel do not think in terms of failure. They look at the result and look to modify it.

There is a saying “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. To change this, simply study your results and modify.

People Make The Best Choice They Can At The Time

As individuals we make our choices based upon the resources available to us at any particular time.

We can only make our choices from OUR OWN knowledge and experience that we possess. Only through new learnings and experiences are we able to make different choices.

The Person With The Most Flexibility Of Behaviour Will Control The System

This means that if someone has only one way of behaving or communicating in any given situation and you have several, you are the more likely to control the outcome.

Problems often continue longer when there is no degree of flexibility or options available.

A great example of this from a sporting context would be two golfers. If golfer A can only drive the ball well but golfer B can drive it, pitch it, chip it and putt it well, then there is only one winner!

You Are In Charge Of Your Mind And Therefore Your Results

It is very easy in life to attribute external factors to your problems. There are many available and some may well be valid. However, by taking control of your thought processes, you can affect positive change and create the behaviours you wish to have.

Every Behaviour Has A Positive Intention

Even the most negative or malicious behaviour has a positive intention. The key is to separate the intention from the behaviour as a person isn’t always their behaviour.

When people get angry, they often show a side that they cannot control. The positive intention is that they care about the issue at hand. The situation doesn’t necessarily define an angry ‘person’, it defines an angry ‘behaviour’.

It is always possible to choose better choices of action to achieve a positive intention in a more resourceful fashion.

The Most Important Information About A Person Is Their Behaviour

In order to gain a good understanding of a person, the best way is to study their behaviour.

For example, you may explain something to someone who in agreement says “yes” but at the same time their face looks confused. The reply may be “yes” but the behaviour says “no”.

The behaviour is a signal from the unconscious mind and tells you far more than words.

Resistance Indicates A Lack Of Rapport

Whenever you find extreme resistance from someone, this shows that you lack rapport.

There are very rarely terribly resistant people, only ineffective communicators. By gaining rapport with anyone, it is possible to break down barriers.

There are ways and means of doing this.

The Mind And Body Are Parts Of The Same System

People often discuss the mind and body as being stand alone entities, working separately from one another.

However, the mind and body cannot work independently. It is impossible to change one without affecting the other.

When we alter our physiology, it changes how we think and feel. When we think in a certain way, it changes our physiology.

A Game Changer says...

Some of the above will definitely have more resonance than others.

By referring to and using any one or several of the above principles, I have no hesitation that they will be of huge benefit, be it in your personal or family life, when around friends & colleagues, within the workplace or when practising & playing the sports you love.

Start integrating some of these principles into your daily life to notice how it can change the way you consider and view the world around you. The results will follow.