In the last 6 months, I have interacted with the Government 4 times as a private citizen. For work relating to a Driving License, Passport, Aadhar Card and Residency Certificate.

On 4 out of 4 occasions, the experience was OUTSTANDING. The work happened on time, on spec and FAST. Zero glitches or followup.

On the other hand, my experience with 4 private sector organisations (a telco I have never worked at, a handset company, an insurance company and a bank) has been frustrating. The work, if it happened, was slow, inefficent, callous and obstacle-driven.

I am not suggesting that the Government Rocks and the Private Sector Sucks. I have believed all my life that the Government is the perfect example of all that is Inefficent, Corrupt and Slow. And that the Private Sector symbolises Transparency, Speed and Action.

My 4 experiences described above made me consider an ALTERNATE REALITY to my previous limiting belief about the Government.

Our beliefs expand us, and they can block us. Most of us have limiting beliefs that limit our ability to think and to do.

This was a relatively mundane example. However, there are some pretty serious limiting beliefs that hold us back from doing More, Faster, Better.

For example, here are 25 things I have been TOLD by people in the past two years

1. We have to play the political and manipulative game to get ahead in life.
2. It’s okay to break or bend a few rules.
3. Men are untrustworthy jerks and b@#$%^s, who are egoistic, superficial, insincere in relationships, unable to commit  and are driven by their hormones.
4. Women are over-emotional over-thinking manipulative b*%$#es who are cunning and crafty and calculating and consummate liars and who use deceit and tears and sulking as a weapon to manipulate men.
5. We need to own the latest and the best (and the most expensive) in clothes, cars, mobile phones and jewelry.
6. People at my workplace absolutely need to like me and I need to like them.
7. North Indians are short-term and dishonest.
8. South Indians are honest and simple.
9. We won’t get caught doing unethical stuff if we are super smart.
10. Criticism is a feedback tool.
11. It’s okay to lose your temper since it keeps people on their toes (the laath ki baat etc etc quote invariably follows.).
12. Yoga is for girls.
13. Women are not suitable in field sales.
14. I can grow my salary only at 10-15% a year.
15. I cannot do that job since it’s a new function (or location or profile) for me.
16. ICs cannot be TLs.
17. My mother told me 20 years ago that I am ugly and childish and immature and I will amount to nothing.
18. The stock market is a gambling den and I will lose all my money
19. It’s a bad economy and jobs are disappearing.
20. People at corporate office are a bunch of  gasbags who add no value and who enjoy power with no accountability.
21. People in the field are tactical and have too much of a short-term perspective.
22. People who are incapable or unwilling of taking tangible and concrete action to improve their own lives take the easy way out and seek help with like minded whiners and losers from Japanese chanting cults and scamster godmen and irrational rituals and new age mumbo jumbo.
23. People who talk well and inspirationally and are mass rabble rousers will make good leaders. Quiet thoughtful people cannot lead people.
24. Passion and Intensity will get any job done.
25. I need to get drunk with the sales guys and use MC BC language to inspire them.

and many more.

All crap. Many of these beliefs have deep psychological underpinnings which I (and many of the people who have had the patience to read this far) am certainly not competent to discuss. And sure, a couple of these may probably be true some of the time. However, to generalise them as Permanent Reality is stretching things a little too far. Almost all of them cause irreparable damage to us some time or the other in life. I can certainly certify that at least 3 of these held me back in my Corporate Days.

Question for you to ponder is “Do you have it in you to really really dive deep into yourself and identify your Top 10 limiting beliefs ?”. And once you do, will you be open minded enough to look at an Alternate View that may help you ?

If you don’t, well, Life goes on. But if you do, POWER TO YOU.

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Also published on Medium.