When we don’t know how to get to a business or a friend’s house, we usually launch a map application to help us navigate a route to our desired location. We follow the map’s directions until we arrive at our destination.

We all have an internal map that guides our behavior. Our internal map, or paradigm, is developed over the course of our lifetime. Our paradigm influences our choices and reactions to circumstances and events we experience on a daily basis.

Becoming aware that we operate from our paradigm is a huge step in self-understanding.

I grew up in the 60’s, and my paradigm was formed by my family dynamics during my childhood, the newsworthy events from that era, and social attitudes. When I first began to be aware of my paradigm, I was stunned by how outdated it was, and how it was affecting my life path. 

Our paradigm can be an obstacle to our happiness by perpetuating long-held beliefs about our self-worth. The messages we received regarding our potential by our parents, teachers and friends congeal to form an internal narrative that can restrict our personal growth, suppress our aspirations and negatively affect our self-fulfillment. 

But paradigms work both ways. Positive paradigms can stimulate growth, boost self-esteem and produce favorable, measurable outcomes.

Writing down a list of what we’ve held to be true about ourselves and our potential can provide a starting point for making a paradigm shift. This sounds easy, but it requires a high level of honesty and the courage to be vulnerable. It helps to be in a supportive environment, with others who are on the same journey with you.

At Possibilities, we support and encourage this process in a safe, confidential environment. We explore, through our seminars, our core beliefs. We challenge our self-restricting perceptions.

Come join us for one of our Level 1 “Opening the Door” seminars, and take a proactive step toward a more confident, self-actualizing future.  Consider a paradigm shift and fine-tune your internal map.