Part 4 of 4: 59 Seconds To Belief Change
In 1903 two men changed the world’s beliefs about what was possible.
What was the belief?
It was best stated by Lord Kelvin, a British mathematician and physicist, around 1895.
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”
Of course we now know better as we can see planes flying overhead every day.
It was in 1903 that Orville and Wilbur Wright proved the naysayers were wrong when they made their first successful flight that lasted 59 seconds. And then another and another. A total of four flights on that first day.
Clearly the Wright brother’s believed it was possible to build a flying machine. But could we help a skeptic living before the first flight that unlearn the belief that it’s impossible to build a flying machine?
To see how we would do that let’s imagine we are speaking to a common man in 1900 who believes that humans cannot build a flying machine. And let’s take him through the Lefkoe Belief Process for unlearning a belief.
Before I begin I’ll list all the steps of the LBP: then I’ll put the names of each step before it happens in the conversation below:
- Get in touch with a belief
- Find the events that lead to the belief
- Find alternative interpretations of the events
- Realize the belief is only A truth, not THE truth
- Realize you never saw the belief
- Get that the events have no meaning
- Find out if the belief is gone or not
GET IN TOUCH WITH A BELIEF
Morty: Robert, I’ve been told you think that people cannot build flying machines.
Robert: That’s right, sir. It can’t be done.
FIND THE EVENTS THAT LEAD TO THE BELIEF
M: What experiences led you arrive at such a conclusion?
R: Well, I’ve read in the paper about the many failed flying experiments. Plus everyone knows that if you drop anything heavy gravity will pull it to the ground. It could never get off the ground, much less stay up and fly.
I just think men weren’t meant to fly.
M: I see. Well, what you say makes sense. A lot of people have concluded the same thing who’ve read what you’ve read and observed the same effects of gravity on heavy objects.
M: Hmmm… but isn’t it possible to make more than one conclusion from those facts?
R: What do you mean?
M: Well, maybe all those experiments failed because the machines they used couldn’t be made to work. The whole approach they were using was doomed to fail. But does that prove that there could never be an approach that might work?
R:
M: Of course not. You’ve sure seen a lot that would convince you otherwise. I was just thinking though that wouldn’t it also be possible that people of today haven’t figured it out but maybe people far in the future can. Imagine trying to explain to George Washington that in the future people will be able to send information through wires or light a home with electricity.
R: Yeah. He’d think I was crazy.
M: Right. And I’m not saying that people in the future will solve this problem. I’m only saying that this is one other logical way of interpreting what you’ve read and seen and that just because we can’t get planes to fly today, that doesn’t mean we never will.
R: OK. It doesn’t prove we won’t figure it out… but it also doesn’t prove we will.
M: Right. And one more. Some heavy objects fall to earth. Some, like birds do not. So not all heavy objects fall to earth. So if one object—a bird—can find a way to stay in the air, maybe we could copy the system birds use and keep a machine in the air. That’s another way to look at gravity, isn’t it?
R: Yeah, that’s true.
REALIZE THE BELIEF IS A TRUTH NOT THE TRUTH
M: So now we’ve seen a few different ways to interpret the things you’ve seen and read about flying machines. Would it be safe to say that the idea that “man can’t build a flying machine” is one valid way of interpreting those events, but not necessarily the only way to interpret those events?
R: Hmmm… OK. I think I can agree to that.
REALIZE YOU NEVER SAW THE BELIEF
M: Now when you were forming this idea that “man can’t build a flying machine” didn’t it seem as if you saw that belief in the world?
R: Yeah, I did see it.
M: Now here’s the tricky part. You and I both know that you’ve seen events—such as flying machines crashing and never getting off the ground—that can be interpreted as evidence that “man can’t build a flying machine.” Events you and I both can sense with our five senses, like seeing, touch, taste, sound and smell right?
R: I follow you.
M: So I’m not asking if you could see those events. I’m asking if you can see the belief: Man can’t build a flying machine.
R: I think I can.
M: Anything you can see has a color, shape, and location. You can describe anything you can really see. SO what does Man can’t build a flying machine look like?
R: Well maybe I can’t see that Man can’t build a flying machine. That’s an idea and you can’t really see ideas.
M: Right. You can only see events. And what events did you see?
R: Well, like I said before, I read stuff in the paper and saw heavy objects fall to the ground.
M: Right.
GET THAT THE EVENTS HAVE NO MEANING
M: And those events what do they really prove? Do they prove anything about whether or not a person can fly at any time in the future, using technology that we can’t ever conceive of today?
R: Well, no. But they sure show that people will keep trying no matter how many times they fall on their face.
R&M: [Both laugh]
M: I think we can both agree to that.
M: So this belief that, man can’t build a flying machine, where has it been all these years?
R: Well, it’s been in my head. And in a lot of other people’s heads too.
FIND OUT IF THE BELIEF IS GONE OR NOT
M: So let me ask, do you still hold the belief “man can’t build a flying machine?”
R: Hmmm…. it’s been called into doubt. It’s weird but it doesn’t seem true anymore. I’ve kind of discarded it. It’s like it’s in the waste bin.
M: I’m glad to hear that.
R: Hey, you know what?
M: What?
R: Can you talk to my wife? I’d like you to help her get rid of some of her ideas too. She thinks I shouldn’t come home so late after the bar. Could you get her to stop hassling me?
M: I know your wife and I don’t think anyone can do that.
R&M: [They both laugh]
In the discussion above, I lead Robert through each step of unlearning a belief. You’ll notice that during each step, I never challenge Robert. I didn’t tell him his ideas were wrong. In fact, after finding the events that lead to the belief, I suggested that his belief is one valid way of looking at those events. It makes sense given what he’s experienced.
Of course, changing a belief in a conversation like this takes more than 59 seconds. It can take as long as 30 minutes or as little as 10 minutes.
However it CAN happen. We know because 150,000 people in 142 countries have done it since 1985.
Of course this belief about flying machines is a bit easier to change than a belief about oneself but the principles are the same.
In fact, you’ve seen the principles in action when you unlearned a belief with my free belief-unlearning program.
Just imagine what you could accomplish if you could unlearn any belief in your way. Is it possible that nothing could hold you back?
It takes time to find all the beliefs in a person’s way and, as I mentioned in the last email, there are a lot of hurdles to overcome when looking for the beliefs that will really make a difference in your life.
Fortunately, my colleagues and I have identified the 19 beliefs that stop most people and we created a video program that walks you through the process of unlearning them for good.
To find out what the 19 beliefs are and how unlearning them will change your life, visit
http://recreateyourlife.com/store/natural-confidence.php
And after you’ve eliminated some of the problems that the Natural Confidence program covers (such as procrastination, worrying what others think of us, fear of rejection, social anxiety, and fear of public speaking), please let me know what you think about the program.
Love,
Morty
Creator of the Lefkoe Method
