How Self Perception Rules Your Results & 5 Ways To Change It

Most of us operate under the belief system that tells us we must ‘have’ something (money, time, love) in order to do the things required, to attain the goals we’re after (launch a business, buy a house, drop 10kg).

In most cases, we hold limiting beliefs that tell us we’re not capable or worthy of achieving our most desirable goals, until we acquire all the pieces of the puzzle to get there.

This simply leaves us on the hamster wheel of self sabotage and limiting beliefs that obstruct us from taking steps forward.

In contrast, the idea of ‘be, do, have’ begins with being, and invites us to act from a place of having already achieved what we’re chasing.

Example:

Goal: Lose 10kg

Be: Hard working, Disciplined, Health conscious, Active, Committed.

Do: Train 4 x per week, Follow a diet, Walk 10k steps daily, Sleep 8 hours.

Have: 10kg weight loss

When we embody the qualities of someone who has already achieved the outcome, we equip ourselves with the necessary behaviours to take action and acquire the goal.

A crucial component of understanding our belief systems comes from rewiring our individual perception.

Individual perception is more than simple observation, and refers to the process of interpreting information we receive in our daily lives, making meaning of it and applying it to our beliefs and behaviours.

From this, we can conclude that people’s behaviour is often influenced by their perception of reality, opposed to reality itself.

Individual perception is often influenced by anchoring, a cognitive bias constructed when we heavily depend on the first piece of information received, and continue to make choices in alignment with this information.

All subsequent decisions, behaviours and beliefs are then based on this anchor.

Reality: I skipped 3 training sessions this week

Belief: I am lazy, undisciplined, uncommitted. I am bad at working out, the gym isn’t for me.

Behaviour: Give up training, cancel your gym membership, leave your coach.

From this example, we can identify how our perception of the events in our world impact the choices we make, undeniably influencing the trajectory of our results both in the gym and in everyday life.

Self efficiency is said to be one of the most crucial aspects of self — perception, that is, our beliefs about our competencies and what we can do well, irrespective of actual abilities.

This is heavily influential on motivation, performance, accomplishments and emotions, and is often the difference between pursuing outcomes or throwing the towel in.

Research suggests that regardless of actual capabilities, individuals who reflect higher levels of self efficiency are more likely to be more resilient, challenge themselves and problem solve, opposed to individuals with low self efficiency who will be more inclined to give up when challenged or met with resistance.

Based on this concept, we can conclude that an individual’s judgment towards their abilities is just as, if not more influential than their ability itself.

Challenging one’s perceptions and belief systems can be difficult and often comes with resistance. This is the process of analysing underlying beliefs that contribute to one’s self perception, and unpacking their influence on successful outcomes.

Potential obstructions to moving through these belief systems include laziness or lack of effort, confusion, fear of conflict, fear of change, wanting certainty and a desire for comfort.

There are many interventions we can utilise to rewire these beliefs, and alter behaviour to be reflective of ones outcomes.

Meditation

Meditation is a useful intervention for reprogramming behavioural responses.
It provides us with an opportunity to create distance between unhelpful thoughts, which enables us to practice mindfulness and awareness when stressful situations arise, and respond in accordance with our values opposed to our initial perception of the event.

Example: Coming home from work late and realising you forgot to take your prepped dinner out of the freezer.

Immediate response: Uber eats

Thoughtful response: Re organising macros and going to the supermarket

Affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements that encourage us to overcome limiting beliefs and self sabotage. Affirmations are repeated from a state of already being, which allows us to recreate thoughts about ourselves, in turn encouraging behaviours that are in alignment with those new found beliefs.

Example: ‘I am strong and healthy’ ‘I am capable’ ‘I am deserving of good health’

Support networks

When we spend time with people who demonstrate traits such as resilience and sustained effort, we are more likely to believe that we too, possess the relevant capabilities in order to be successful.

Future self journaling

Future self journaling is a powerful tool used to structure habits and behaviours in alignment with our greatest self. Future self journaling allows us to encapsulate what life looks like once we achieve X goal and create daily rituals and routines that work in accordance with these visions.

Habit trackers

Daily habit trackers are invaluable when we look at coming from a place of being.
Once we have identified what our future self looks like, habit trackers provide us with structure to behave in a way that reflects that vision. It is in the process of committing to these behaviours and consistently repeating them that we are able to be the individual who has the end result.

In conclusion…

We often get it twisted.
Having is near impossible, without being first.
Learn to be, in order to do, so you are able to have.