If you are contemplating becoming an entrepreneur, you have to admit that a part of you is just a little bit crazy. While your "homie fish" are swimming protectively together in a comfortable school, you are flapping off in your own direction, unsure of when a giant shark or squid will chomp your head off. The funny thing is, the biggest fear you should have is not of voracious predators but of your own negative thoughts.
Am I the only one who has experienced this inner dialogue?
Positive Pam thought: I will create a successful, thriving business that will give me as much money as I desire.
Evil twin thought: I will become a spectacular failure when I try to start my own business, will fall on my face in front of everyone I respect, will eventually become homeless and will have to go to work alongside teenagers serving Happy Meals.
Our negative thoughts are so powerful that they take our dreams out without even giving us a chance to fully know what they are. There is a great way to overcome these thoughts from the groundbreaking and oft-quoted work of Byron Katie, called The Work. It consists of four simple questions that you ask yourself about a negative thought:
- Is it true?
- Do you know for a fact that it is true?
- How do you react when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without that thought?
If you think this sounds so simple that it is hokey, trust me, it isn’t. Very real, powerful things happen when you really work this process. Negative, self-destructive thoughts fizzle out and allow you to pursue your dreams. Learn more in Katie’s book Loving What Is.