Every day the average person has 50,000 thoughts and 12,000 internal conversations!! Wow did you know that? I didn’t. [www.mindgardener.com – the leadership guide].

It really is quite astonishing that we don’t pay attention to all these thoughts and conversations let alone realize this is going on in the background of our minds. Sometimes it’s just the simple things that we do automatically which we take for granted and never question. I wonder what would happen if we did.

Recently I was with a client that made me realize we need to start paying attention to what we believe and all those conversations going on in our head!

It was in a moment of silence around the management table and a senior manager seemed to have an epiphany and he said to everyone: I know that on a very deep level I believe that everyone comes to work to do the best possible job they can. I leaned forward to listen better. He said: I also know that some people think that everyone comes to work to do the least possible amount of work to get by and get their pay and go home. One of the managers then jumped into the conversation and said, and some of us believe that others come to work to give us a hard time! There was embarrassed laughter and then silence again.

And all of these beliefs are valid and probably true.  The issue here is this: depending on your belief it will influence your behaviour and interactions with others. If you believe that everyone comes to work to do the least amount of work and you are a high achiever several things may happen:

• Your tone and body language may change toward colleagues and staff because you believe they’re not working as hard and as fast as you are
• You may stop delegating because its just so much easier to do it yourself because those lazy staff aren’t going to put in sufficient effort in doing the work
• You may not include staff when you need to…
• And so it goes on….

Do you know what your beliefs are? Do you know how they impact on others? Do you know what others beliefs are about you? You may want to know how you perceive yourself and others, its really extremely important.

The www.mindgardener says to bring clarity to such a busy mind you need to train your attentions so it is disciplined and stable. Giving your full attention to every person with whom you interact, every task you do, and every place you visit you too can achieve clarity.

Are you interested in beliefs? If you want to learn more contact me.