The Key to Your Destiny...Disbelief

By Simon T. Bailey

Ladies and gentlemen, I woke up this morning with these thoughts running in my head, and I just had to get them out. Forgive me in advance for a longer than usual Carat, but I know someone needs to hear what I'm about to say.

Everything that exists, from the airplane to the automobile to the computer monitor you're looking at now, began as a seed in the imagination of the creator. In order for each innovation to come to fruition, the creator had to purposefully believe (Be-Leave) in his or her vision and walk away from everything and everyone that contradicted that vision.

Likewise, any business that exists today does so because the founder(s) believed that their idea had merit, worth and value. These visionaries didn't have all the answers, nor did they likely have people lined up to invest in their fledgling venture. In fact, they probably had many cynics who never missed an opportunity to tell them "it" couldn't be done. Nevertheless, they stayed the course and believed themselves into their destiny.

What about you? Where are you right now on your personal or professional journey? What do you believe?

This week, I just want to inspire you...to breathe life into your situation. If you remember nothing else from this Carat, I want to imprint two ideas in your brain and your belief system. Here's the first:

What you believe decides the course of your life. As you believe, so you become. You don't decide your future. You decide what you believe; what you believe drives your behavior; and your behavior creates your future.

Have you ever thought about where your beliefs come from? Many of them are formulated during our childhood when we unquestioningly accept the beliefs and opinions - both helpful and harmful - of influential people in our lives. Others are created when we hear, see or experience something that leaves an imprint on the brain, and a corresponding belief is downloaded into the subconscious mind.

According to recent research, about 90 percent of life is "lived" in the subconscious realm, while only 10 percent is lived in the conscious realm. What this means is that many powerful beliefs have been downloaded into our subconscious that we don't even know are there, but that cause us to think, act and behave the way we do.

Except for a fortunate few, most of us pick up negative imprints that cause us to disbelieve what we can do or achieve or become. And many of these negative imprints come from the people we choose to surround ourselves with...people who don't foresee a better tomorrow for us.

I call these naysayers Brilliance Blockers, and their job in life is to hold you back. They have an uncanny ability to kick you when you're down, a knack for saying discouraging comments at just the right time and a gift for projecting their unfinished business onto the movie screen of your life. They treat you in accordance with their own self-limitations. In business, if you appear to be wiser, more successful or friendlier with upper management than they are, they will find a way to silence you and limit your face time with the big boss. Why? They are insecure, immature and, sometimes, incompetent.

Brilliance Blockers are experts at playing head games with you, and they're so convincing that you buy into their belief system about you. They are the root cause of your disbelief. They limit your productivity and handicap your future. They are the reason you locked your brilliance in the vault of your soul and threw away the key.

Should you be angry with them? That's fine, for a short while. Feel the frustration, bear the pain, cry the tears. And then move on. My friends, holding on to anger and hatred for those who have abused you (whether it be physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, spiritual or workplace abuse) will never release your spirit or unlock the vault within you.

What motivates disbelievers to dump their poison on others? As humans, we tend to point out and put down in others what we most loathe about ourselves. The faults we find in others are our own faults, whether or not we're consciously aware of them. People stomp on others' dreams and spirits because of their own baggage, their own unfinished business and their need to be right and to be in control.

To push themselves up, Brilliance Blockers must push others down. And we let them. Why? Perhaps because we feel indebted to them...they've been there for us at some point in our lives. Our maybe it's because we don't want to be alone...we're looking for love, acceptance and to belong, even if we have to find it in the wrong places and faces.

But here's the deal (this is the second idea I want to imprint on your brain):

Disbelievers' beliefs, words and actions, although directed at you, have absolutely nothing to do with you. Their toxicity is not about you - it's about them! The only power the cynics have over you is the power you give them.

Will it surprise you, then, when I suggest that you give the Brilliance Blockers in your life power - and lots of it? No, not the type of power that keeps you from walking in the brilliance you deserve. Instead, give them power by transforming them from Brilliance Blockers to Brilliance Enablers. Take the negative energy of all those who disbelieve, discourage and disparage you and shift it to positive energy to propel you forward into your destiny. If you don't, their beliefs will become your reality.

Don't be mad that they've turned on you, thrown you under the bus or doubt your ability. Be glad. They're doing you a favor. Their purpose in your life is to act as a catalyst for change so you can forge a new future. Allow the Brilliance Blockers in your life to push you through to the next season. What is the next season called? Due Season. That's right...it's your season to shine. Hold you head up...allow your nostrils to get a whiff of the Due Season tailor made just for you. It's your time to come forth and take your place at center stage.

However, on the way from the pit to the palace, like Joseph the Dreamer, we must be thankful for the disbelievers, for all the people who said that we'd never make it, that we'd never last, that we'd fall flat on our face and come crawling back to them looking for a handout. Every now and then, think about or look at those who disbelieve...smile, dig deeper, find your courage and keep going!

In the spirit of Oscar season, I want to give a personal Oscar to the "actors" and "actresses" who created drama for me. Yes, you played a vital role in the movie of my life, and I'm so grateful for your disbelief because it served as a mobilizer for me to find my path. If it hadn't been for you serving as a roadblock to my destiny, I would've never pursued my life's work. Now that I realize you were in my life to be a Brilliance Enabler instead of a Brilliance Blocker, I thank you for serving your purpose.

Don't allow disbelief to stop you in your tracks. LET IT GO. Dust yourself off and get back on the highway of life. You have too much living to do.

Simon Believes...Disbelief is a Brilliance Enabler not a Brilliance Blocker - a blessing instead of a curse.

Source: The Student Operated Press

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