Belief gets results

When I was studying for my professional qualifications, I was struggling with one of the subjects – managing information systems. This encompassed management information systems, statistics and accounts. Consider that my father did most of my maths homework when I was at school and I had a strong belief that I could not add up, let alone do complex equations, and you might understand why I was having a problem!

I went to a positive attitude seminar and, at the end, asked the speaker how I could improve my chances of passing my exams in less than a month. She advised me to keep telling myself I could.

I quickly responded, ‘But I’m no good with numbers.’

‘As long as you keep telling yourself that, it will be true.’

‘So what can I do?’ I asked, puzzled by this.

‘Keep telling yourself “I’m really good with numbers” -every time you hear yourself think or say “I’m no good with numbers”, change it – say it out loud if necessary,’ she said.

‘But I don’t believe that. It’s not true,’ I argued.

‘Don’t worry, belief will kick in if you say it often enough,’ she assured me.

What was the outcome? I tried it – every time I heard that internal voice saying ‘Don’t be silly, you can’t add up’, I said out loud ‘I’m really good with numbers.’

I passed the exam – with higher marks than any of the others! The belief had kicked in and broken down the mental block that prevented me taking in the information I needed to succeed.