"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." -Kenneth Olsen, President and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, in 1977
"We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out." -Decca Records rejecting The Beatles, in 1962.
What do these two list of statements have in common ? First, they are all perceptions about the way things are. Second, they are all inaccurate or incomplete, even though the people who said them are convinced they're true.
Another word for perceptions is paradigms. A paradigm is the way you see something, your point of view, frame of reference, or belief. As you may have noticed, our paradigms are often way off the mark, and, as a result, they create limitations.
Paradigms are like glasses. When you have incomplete paradigms about yourself or life in general, it's like wearing glasses with the wrong prescription. That lens affects how you see everything else. As a result, what you see is what you get. If you believe you're dumb, that very belief will make you dumb. If you believe someone else is dumb, you'll look for evidence to support your belief, find it, and he/she will remain dumb in your eyes.
Paradigms and Principles, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey.
