Are Your Assumptions Limiting Your Possibilities?

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Every day we all tend to make assumptions. You know, your next day neighbor might get in the car first thing in the morning and you assume that person is going to go to work. But, that may not be the case. What you're doing is determining something is true before you even check out the facts. In other words, your assumptions are limiting you.

"Assumptions are the death of possibilities." James Mapes

Humans can't fly to the moon.
The human body can't run a mile under 4 minutes.
Women are too emotional to be leaders.
The sun revolves around the earth (which is flat).
Telephones are only for talking and listening.
Animal species never change.
Black people are inferior to white people.
I (Margie) can never run 10 miles. Never ever.

Some of these assumptions had the force of science behind them while others had just the force of habit. All of them seem ridiculous in retrospect.

And the only reason any of them collapsed was because someone had the courage to challenge to the status quo; to push back on "the truth", to part with tradition and to ask questions about why things are the way they are, and how they might be instead.

Courageous thinking, from Martin Luther King's calls for justice to Henry David Thoreau's blunt naturalism, involves risk. It can make people very uncomfortable, invite criticism (if not outright ostracism) and at minimum, be unsettling for all those firmly attached to their way of viewing the world. But, courageous thinking is also what propels our lives, and our society, forward.

Earlier this year I did a 10-mile run. Up until I began training a couple months earlier, I'd never run more than 3 miles (and that was only once!) I just didn't think my body was made for running, but I was willing to try to prove myself wrong; and alas, I certainly did. Next goal: half marathon!

Sometimes when we think outside the box, we get it wrong. Sometimes when we take risks, we fail. And sometimes, despite our very best efforts to achieve an outcome, we fall short. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to try. What matters most is that we work to embody the kind of courage that stirs the spirit and inspires us to think bigger about what is possible, and to inspire others to do the same.

In the last few weeks, I've experienced a hurricane, an earthquake and, yesterday, flash flooding. I have no idea why. But what I do know is that the world is far more mysterious than I will ever be able to understand and that to live life fully, we need to embrace a sense of curiosity, adventure and never stop asking questions and challenging assumptions.

So, what assumptions are you going to challenge about your life this weekend?!

Be bold -- your life will shrink or expand in proportion to your willingness to challenge what's possible! What have you learnt is possible for you? Share your comment with friends and family; you very well may inspire them beyond belief!


About the Author:
Margie Warrell; thought leader in human potential, master life coach, international speaker, media contributor and best-selling author of Find Your Courage.

Take the Courage Quiz, watch Margie's TV interviews (TODAY show, Fox, CNBC) and sign up for her free LIVE BOLDLY! newsletter. Then order your personally autographed Amazon best-seller book Find Your Courage



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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