I worked there for 15 years and when I visit I still feel like I am going home. We saw Jill, the housing Goddess, who is also an Author and Astrologist. We were talking about cats, and Jill said she and her husband, Vijai, were thinking about getting one. However, Jill said that she is allergic to cats, and Vijai believes he is because that is what his mother told him. What a great teaching point. A lot of what we believe is because one of our parents told us it was true.
For instance, when I retired from the Marine Corps in 1992 my Military Identification Card said that I was 5’10”, 170 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. Well, I was 5’10” for about three days in 1971, then gravity took over and today I am now around 5’7”. In 1992 I only dreamed of being 170 pounds again, and my hair was already gray by the late 1980s. Most interestingly, however, is that my eyes probably have always been blue. Why did my ID card say I had hazel eyes? Well, it was because my mother once told me my eyes were Hazel; and that is what I wrote down on one of the many forms I filled out as I entered the Marine Corps in 1966.
My theory is that many of our beliefs come from the A.I.R. By A.I.R. I mean, Adults telling us things Intensely or Repeatedly. I have found over the years that these are often our most limiting beliefs, and we are normally not even aware of them. We simply believe them to be true because an adult told us. My eye color may be an extreme case, but I believed it to be true. Vijai believes that he is allergic to cats.
What do you believe because you were told it was true by an adult when you were growing up? How does it limit you?
Win is a life coach. Time and time again I read his blog and I am brought to questions that in reality are so simple, but I would never ask myself. I laughed when I read this because my story is I don’t have a middle name. For years I believed I did because I had asked my mother and she told me my middle name was Maria just like her name. It wasn’t until college that I needed my birth certificate that I found out that I had no middle name. When I questioned my mother she said she can’t recall telling me that, but if she did it was because she felt bad that all 3 of my siblings had middle names and I didn’t so she just made it up. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I remember feeling like a little piece of who I thought I was had been stolen. It’s only a middle name right? Well, I still recall it so I guess it was more.
Reading Win’s piece this morning made me reflect quite heavily on what I say to my boys. I thought this was so important to share because in the midst of stressful situations, being exhausted and all that life with kids has to offer we are still their teachers. They learn how to live, how to deal and how to love from us. This job is so much more important than any with a pay check. Today I have been reminded of how important I am, which is something a stay at home mom forgets sometimes. Today I’m taking some time to examine my life, my words, and my actions. Today I am thankful for the friends and family that I have in my life.
Win Harper is a life and leadership coach. Check out his site HERE. Sign up for his blog or for some coaching!