Recently, an occurrence of historic dimensions exploded across the country, and its effect has been felt around the world. Millions of people never saw it coming, and may prove to be one of the biggest disruptors of the 21st century.
The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series.
What did you think I was talking about?
Their win was over a century in the making, and it not only brought home another championship to Chicago, it exploded an almost indestructible basic assumption … that the Cubs would never win the World Series.
Can’t say that anymore.
There is a lesson in this; we often operate, personally and professionally, under similar (false) basic assumptions; I’ll never lose weight; we’ll never break $1M in sales; I’ll never own a home; we’ll never be able to compete against Apple.
These are negative assumptions, best identified when they begin with phrases like, “We never will …” “I never have,” “I cannot …,” “It silly to think that we could …” etc.
STOP. Question those assumptions. Analyze and test them. This is a universal issue … it doesn’t matter if you’re at the young end of Gen Z or the outer edge of Baby Boomers …. assumptions have power.
If you don’t challenge them from time to time, they will eat away at the foundations of your self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as at the foundation of your business model. .
The positive words we use to modify or qualify our goals may also be limiting; are they too broad, making our goals unfocused? Are they too narrow, making our goals too restrictive? Are they too undefined and obtuse? Our personal and professional worlds are constantly changing … are our assumptions keeping up?
Then, after you’ve challenged your basic assumptions, hypothesize from a new set. The results may surprise you … you might win the World Series.