So I went to NYC last week to attend a seminar.  I’d really never been to the Big Apple though I’ve been to Amsterdam, Paris, London, San Francisco and Cairo. My friends, who know I travel as much as I can, were surprised that I had never been.  I realized I was afraid to visit. All my limiting beliefs and assumptions about this great American city kept me away.

So I decided to look my limiting beliefs and assumptions about New York City squarely in the eye and challenge them.  I followed the advice I found at www.travelonadimenow.com and made my way to the Big Apple.  A car ride, overnight stay in CT and a train ride later – I found myself at Grand Central Station.

and you know what – not one of my limiting beliefs or assumptions  was accurate and correct.  And guess what else happened?  I had a blast!  Meeting some great people, eating some truly wonderful food.  I can’t wait to go back to NYC and spend a lot more time there exploring.

What limiting beliefs and assumptions can you dispel? And how much better will your life become?

Give it a try and see what happens.

Last blog, I explored Limiting Beliefs briefly, the first of the “Big 4″ energy blocks which prevent us from making conscious choices and reaching our potential. Let’s take a look now at another one of those blocks — Assumptions.

An assumption is a belief that is based on the premise that because something happened in the past, it is automatically going to happen again.

When you make choices based on assumptions, you are letting the past control the future. Assumptions hold you back, because when you already “know” that something won’t work, you probably won’t even consider doing it. Even if you do attempt it, you won’t have a lot of energy for what you’re doing, since you don’t really believe it can work. When you hold onto your assumptions, you miss out on many possibilities.

Here are some typical assumptions:

If I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done right.   No one listens to what I am saying.  My kids are lazy and unproductive.  I’m no good at interviewing.  I can’t do that job.

Because assumptions are primarily based on personal experience, they are internalized and emotional, and difficult to let go. Delving deep to remove the emotion of the past experience may be necessary before moving forward.

The main question to ask when challenging an assumption is simply ” Just because that happened in the past, why must it happen it again?”

So when you just “know” that something won’t work based on your past experience, recognize your assumption for what it is, question it, and consciously choose to let it go and take positive action. You’d ll be surprised at the results.

We need to learn to make conscious choices, choices that are made in the present moment, without all the emotional “baggage” we carry around.

You can think of that baggage as being packed into four kinds of suitcases – the “big 4″ energy blocks that we carry around with us dictate how we see the world and hold us back in reaching our unlimited potential. ( The Big 4 are: Limiting Beliefs, Assumptions, Interpretations and Gremlins.)

The first suitcase contains your limiting beliefs. Beliefs can either help you or hinder you; limiting beliefs are those that hold you back from success. If you do not believe something is possible, you’re likely not to attempt it. Even if you do attempt it, you won’t devote much energy to achieving that goal.

Limiting beliefs are general beliefs about the world, your environment, situation, and the people around you that stand in your way. More often  than not, you accept a limiting belief as true because you’ve learned it from someone else, or from an “authority” such as the media, a book, or a movie. You assume that’s “just the way it is”.

I love to travel, but it wasn’t always so. My limiting beliefs about certain cultures and destinations, such as Cairo Egypt, always held me back.  Everything I read, heard, and saw said that this was a terrible country for Americans.  But I did go, and what I found was exactly the opposite. A wonderful country, with warm and welcoming people who were happy to have visitors.  I’d go back again in a heartbeat, and in fact have been to other countries in Africa.

Here are a couple common limiting beliefs that hold many of us back:  You have to work really hard to achieve success; or successful people are lucky; or you have to have money to make money.

There are several ways to challenge limiting beliefs. You can explore the effect the belief has had on your life,  look for proof of its truth (or lack of), or modify the belief to better serve you.  Simply examining the belief with questions like ” How true do I believe that is?” and the rhetorical ” Where did I get that idea?” can also work remarkably well.   Once you overcome your limiting beliefs, they can no longer hold you back!

So what’s in your limiting belief suitcase? Where are you stuck? Unpack that suitcase, and see how much lighter you feel.

I love the beach.  I can’t get enough of it.  Yesterday in New England was a perfect summer day – 85 degrees, a light breeze, and no clouds in the sky.  I decided to go to Horseneck  Beach in Westport Massachusetts.

When I was little, we’d pack in the car at the crack of dawn and drive north to the beaches of Maine. The water was always cold, and inevitably I’d get severely sunburned. But I loved it – and that was how I thought you went to the beach.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that my favorite time at the beach is from about 3 pm until the sun goes down.  It’s perfect for me – not too hot and the beach is beginning to empty out.  By 7 pm – I’m usually one of a few people on the beach.  I absolutely love it.

Other people think I’m crazy – going to the beach at this time.  They’re always saying it’s not worth going at that time and look at me like I have 2 heads.

Why do I mention this? Because it’s part of mastering my life -  tapping into my true self, and mastering who I am.

I’ve got this part down – beach lover – 3 pm on.  What part of your life have you got mastered?