Lisa Cybaniak

Every organisation is plagued with the same issue - they are only as good as their weakest link. How we feel about ourselves determines our behaviour in all situations, including in the workforce. Our mindset can be the difference between having the confidence necessary to recognise and grab hold of new opportunities, and daily self-sabotage. We have the power to choose and cultivate our mindset! By determining how and why we are holding ourselves back, we can make the crucial changes necessary for both personal and professional growth and development. The impact on organisations is palpable, with employees who are no longer hindered by their fear of failure (or success), but rejoicing in their strength and determination to succeed.

Our view of the world and our place in it is largely formed by the age of seven. From that point we are collecting evidence to support our world view. If we believe that we will fail, for example, then we will search for evidence to support this in all our interactions. This means that even when we are experiencing success, we will not fully accept or celebrate it. By expecting failure, we will generate failure by being so focused on the smallest negative piece of the puzzle. But what if we could learn to expect success? Could we shift our mindsets, creating a different view of our world?

When things go wrong in your day, what is your first response? Is it to tell yourself you knew you couldn't do it anyway, to ask 'why me?', and feel like despite your best efforts, nothing ever turns out the way you planned? Or worse yet, maybe you sabotage yourself in little ways without even realising it - not completing a task, not putting in full effort, or simply not showing up. Why are you doing these things?  You are meeting your needs, something we have learned since birth. You are focusing on immediate gratification and you are expecting failure. By not putting in full effort, you are sparing yourself the disappointment of that expected failure. What if you could break down your 'gets', revise the script, and start focusing on meeting the needs that serve your highest good? I know exactly what would happen - you would start expecting success because you would know you deserve it. In short, you would allow yourself to have the life you deserve.