As we move through our lives and our careers, we encounter obstacles that we need to overcome. Not all of these roadblocks are external, however. Some we create ourselves, because of our patterns of incorrect thinking. And because of this faulty thinking, we end up putting obstacles in our way that don’t really exist. We create our own obstacles. So, to get out of this bind, we need to change our thinking. And here are a few examples of faulty thinking that we need to overcome.
1. You can only get ahead by stepping on others.
This is a cynical attitude that views other people as merely self-interested, egocentric manipulators. You see other people only as adversaries who are pretty much out to get you. As a result, you feel that you have to engage in manipulation yourself, to take advantage of others whenever you can.
But business experts say that this is ultimately a self-defeating attitude because you yourself will come to be seen as someone who cares little for others, as someone who cannot be trusted. And this will ultimately be harmful to your career.
You need to change your attitude, to see others as colleagues. Instead of a manipulator, people need to see you as someone who acts with integrity and professionalism, because this, in the end, will be what helps you to get ahead.
2. Never admit to mistakes.
This is a person who needs to appear to be in control all the time. For them, admitting to a mistake is tantamount to admitting incompetence. As a result, they end up not facing the reality of a situation, seeing only what they want to see. Moreover, this attitude only makes matters worse, because if someone is unwilling to admit a mistake, they will never correct it.
This type of attitude can hurt a person’s career also because this person might never be willing to try new things at work, to challenge himself, for fear of making an error. He never gets out of his comfort zone.
3. Believing that you cannot change the way you are.
This is someone who is convinced that their character and intelligence are pretty much the result of heredity, and there is little they can do about it. Because of this, they never attempt to make any changes in themselves.
But as the psychologist Carol Dweck and others have shown, this is a self-defeating attitude. We can learn and grow, but first we have to believe that we can. We need to take the attitude that we are developing our entire life, because in many ways that is the truth. Our brains are being continually rewired by the learning and experiences we have.
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