Your Ability To "Know"

If someone walked up to you and said, "Hey, did you know the sky was purple with pink polka dots?"......would you really need to go outside to check?

Probably not.

Why? Because you have the ability to know something. In fact, you have the ability to "know" something so strongly that what you will "know" will stand in the face of some kind of counter-information. You don't even waver on it.

So, what does this have to do with cultivating a Million Dollar Mindset? Simply this: most people constantly struggle between their ANALYTICAL mind and their REACTIVE mind.

The analytical mind is the part of your mind that is very good at sifting through information and coming to a conclusion. But the reactive part of the mind is where you entertain all the "self-talk" that often stems from the programming you've received from outside yourself.

Example: A guy wants to start a business. He looks at a business and can clearly see what is involved. He likes the concept. The products are something he's interested in. The compensation plan makes sense to him. He says, "This is in line with what I'm looking for. I'm going to do it."

That's when his reactive mind usually says, "Are you nuts? Don't you know how many people fail in business? Do you want to wind up a statistic?? Don't you remember when your brother-in-law started in a business like this and he quit after two weeks?"

A lot of people observe that inner self-talk and say "that person is analytical. He needs a lot of time to sort things out before making a decision."

Truthfully, the analytical mind is AMAZINGLY fast at knowing what it knows. All the delay comes from the above dialogue which is NOT the analytical mind; it's the analytical mind at war with the reactive mind.

Part of the solution is to simply realize and understand that you DO have the ability to know something on your own. And whenever you form your own conclusion and then go "outside" to learn more, you will usually only see the data that matches what you've already decided.

Example: three of your close friends tell you that the new restaurant that just opened has lousy service. If you bother to eat there at all, you will be "primed" to notice all the times that your glass was empty for too long, or that you had to ask for chopsticks twice before you got them.

Conversely, if three of your close friends tell you that the new restaurant is incredible and you should definitely try it, you might have the same experience but will be far less likely to notice the service problems.

So, how can you use this knowledge to move forward in life?

1. Have confidence that you really DO have the ability to know if something makes sense to you or not. Be open for outside information, but think for yourself.
2. If you have a lot of "mind noise" that is swirling around and keeping you from making a decision on information that you know is valid....that's your reactive mind. It's where all the hesitation and fear comes from. See it for what it is. Trust your instincts.
3. Practice holding an opinion that is counter to the masses. (If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you already know that the masses are frequently wrong about a lot of things.) Consider a social experiment where you can have a conversation with someone and express a differing opinion and then notice what goes on internally. Do you find yourself wanting to change your opinion because it's uncomfortable to be in the minority? Do you find that your ability to "know" is unchanged? Derive your own conclusions.

But most of all, understand that the only time you have fear, hesitation and uncertainty is when your analytical mind is at war with your reactive mind. By choosing to exercise the one instead of the other, you really CAN achieve a state where decision-making is easy and your path is clear.

How can you apply this to your business and your life today?