Of all of our beliefs, there is none so powerful as disbelief.
When we participate in a movie we suspend our disbelief. We join in the fantasy and allow our emotions to follow those of the main characters.
This in itself is a tool that we can all use in our everyday lives. Not only can we suspend our disbelief but we can also suspend our limiting beliefs. We can suspending believing that we can't do something.
In other words we can believe in ourselves by disbelieving that we are limited.
For a moment, just imagine yourself wanting to start a project you have been putting off. You are afraid that you do not have the resources to get to your goal.
It can be something as easy as learning a new instrument.
So you buy the instrument and a simple beginners book that teaches the basics. Then you find a teacher to help you or you try to learn on your own.
You set some realistic goals for learning. If you were to go to a music teacher it is likely that you would learn most of the basics over a two year period. So that is a realistic goal.
Well how much time should you spend learning to play. You are not going to spend every minute of your waking life learning an instrument. You would spend a reasonable amount of time.
Again, if you were going to a music teacher you would spend half an hour learning a lesson per week and another half hour each day at home practicing that lesson.
Typically, music programs follow the school year. This suggests that you would follow this routine from September to June of the following year. During the summer you could continue to practice and perhaps learn new songs.
Now you have a realistic plan, now you need to motivate yourself to achieve your goal and learn your instrument.
Having done all your research as to what you need to accomplish your goal and laying it out step by step you need to find in you the strength to carry out your objective.
So sit back and enjoy the movie. Just the same way you would while watching any movie, begin by suspending your disbelief.
Place yourself as the main character in that movie. See all your friends around you, or your adoring public and fans, admiring how well you play that instrument.
Imagine yourself being the star and playing the correct notes in the correct time. See your fans rocking to the beat you set.
Hear the sounds you are making, the actual song. See your hands and body doing exactly what is required of you to make that music beautiful.
Whenever you think of something that will prevent you from playing that instrument tell yourself you don't believe that thought. Remember to suspend your disbelief.
After all, you are just watching a movie. Sure, you need to act this out in real life but that is just it. Suspend your disbelief and act it out in real life.
I often choose musical instruments, for example, because that is exactly how I learned to play the guitar. And, after I was 50 years old, I also learned to play the guitar fingerstyle, like Chet Atkins.
I had wanted to play in a band. Occasionally, when I was younger, I played with a few musicians. But, after learning to play fingerstyle, I realized I was the band, playing bass, melody and rhythm on the guitar all at the same time.
I could also just as easily have chosen drawing from my own experience. When I was 18 years old, I was taught how to write calligraphy. Calligraphy is very much like drawing and I was curious to see if I could use that skill to draw.
Sure enough, I learned that drawing is exactly the same as writing. You have to learn a short hand for drawing by visualizing light and dark. From visualizing images I have since progressed to visualizing everything.
Drawing is an interpretation of how I imagine the world. The images we make of our world are in our minds. My mind contains images of how I interpret the world.
All I ever need to do to make something happen is to suspend my disbelief. And, in that vacuum I insert my belief in my abilities to reach my goal.
