A few years ago while in the midst of a corporate consulting assignment I realized that there was one crippling belief that was rampant in every organization I had ever worked in. And this belief was not only the most common belief in organizations, it was, in my opinion, the biggest single barrier that most organizations have.
What is this belief? I (or we) can’t ….
“We can’t out-source that product.” “I can’t possibly find the time to do that.” “We can’t find the employees we need.” “I can’t get the support I need.” “We can’t possibly finish the project as quickly as the customer wants.” And the list goes on and on. If you work in a company you hear I can’t … all day long. And if someone (or lots of someones) believes something “can’t be done,” then the chances to slim to nil that it will get done.
This belief, like any other belief, can be easily eliminated using the Lefkoe Belief Process and we used the LBP repeatedly in our organizational work for many years. (The Lefkoe Institute has helped over 10,000 employees in over 50 corporations eliminate beliefs that kept the organizations from realizing their full potential.)
The only difficulty is that we couldn’t be at every meeting of every group of employees to hear each I can’t … being expressed and then eliminate it. And it currently takes a lot of time to train people to be effective with the LBP. So I needed to create a process that I could teach employees quickly that could eliminate the innumerable I can’t … beliefs.
My solution was a modified version of the LBP that I call the Lefkoe Belief Process—Possibilities (LBP-P), because when a belief is eliminated possibilities are created that didn’t exist before. (What can’t be done is not a possibility. As soon as it can be done, a new possibility comes into existence for us. For example, if we can’t raise the money we need, raising the money is not a possibility for us. When the belief is eliminated, raising the money suddenly becomes possible.
This process can be taught to people in less than an hour. I’ve taught it to over a thousand CEOs, who then taught it to others in their companies.
Because I can’t … shows up in our personal lives almost as often as in organizations, I thought I would devote this blog post to teaching it to you. So here are the basic steps of the process so you can use it in your organization and with friends.
Steps of the Lefkoe Belief Process—Possibilities
(This is a modified Lefkoe Belief Process that is used to eliminate I can’t … beliefs in order to enhance innovation and create new possibilities.)
You will usually hear someone state, I can’t …. out loud. If you are trying to help someone find their unconscious I can’t … beliefs, you can ask the following three questions:
a. What do you want to have happen?
b. What do you have to do to make this happen?
c. What’s in the way of you doing that? (The answer will be, I can’t … because ….)
1. What is it you have to do or can’t do? (NOTE: If someone states the belief in a positive way, for example, “we must,” turn it into the negative version, “we can’t.”
2. How do you know that? What happened that led to the belief being formed? (The source here is not childhood, but one’s recent experience.)
3. Can you see that your belief made sense given your experience? (The answer will always be, yes.)
4. You saw that it couldn’t be done the way you did it, at that time, under those circumstances. Can you say with absolute certainty that it could never be done any way under any circumstances in the future? (Logically, the answer will always have to be, no. You can never say anything about the future with absolute certainty.)
5. Couldn’t your past experience also mean: I haven’t found a way to do it yet, but that does not mean that it can’t be done? (Again, the answer will always be, yes.)
6. Can you see that your belief is only a description of the way it was in the past and not the truth about the future? (The answer will be, yes, which is acknowledging that the belief is no longer the truth.)
7. If it’s not the truth that I can’t … Try using the LBP-P in your company or with a friend and then leave me a note here on my blog about your results. Thanks for reading my blog. I really appreciate your comments and questions. Please feel free to share my blog posts with anyone you think might be interested as long as you tell people where they came from. If you haven’t yet eliminated at least one of your limiting self-esteem beliefs using The Lefkoe Method, go to http://www.recreateyourlife.com/free where you can eliminate one limiting belief free. To purchase DVD programs that we guarantee to eliminate eight of the most common daily problems, go to http://www.recreateyourlife.com/store. Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mortylefkoe and join our fan page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LefkoeInstitute) to get my latest insights on the role of beliefs in our lives. Finally, to receive notice of new blog posts, please fill out the following form. Lefkoe Belief Process-Possibilities Copyright © 1985-2009 Morty Lefkoe
Copyright © 2009 Morty Lefkoe
Hi Morty,
I have a question. I am a realtor and everyday i try to find clients to list and sell and i haven’t sold a house in last one month and now in the morning i like to sleep rather going to work. what beliefs i’m creating and how can i eliminate them and enjoy my work and achieve my goal of selling one house every month and have a regular and consistent income.
Thanks
Hi Jas,
Thanks for your interest in our work.
I’m not sure what beliefs are in your way, but if you schedule a session with one of our Certified Lefkoe Method Facilitators we can help you identify the beliefs that are sabotaging you and then help you eliminate them.
For more information or to schedule a session, please call us at (415) 506-4472.
Love,Morty
Clearly, this process is [explained/designed] for people who are trying to achieve the thing, isn’t it? Yet if the real meaning is “We don’t want to,” then you surely could attack that belief as well: if you knock that belief out, then possibilities could emerge which would make it worthwhile, no? Because ultimately, it’s the same thing: there’s a belief acting as a do-not-enter that could be a stop sign or detour. (Meaning: wait, double check or go around.)
Actually, this is bloody brilliant, at least as valuable as the regular possibility process. Think about it, what would happen to the GNP of a country if, instead of avoiding work, us underlings started looking for more attractive alternatives? Some of the effort will be “wasted” but probably not as much, right? And it’s a lot easier when you bite the bullet because you think it’s the best way… Meaning more energy, either way, to be put into the actual, rubber-meets-the-road work.
Hi Morty,
thanks a lot for this interesting post. I have difficulties with this sentence:
“If someone states the belief in a positive way, for example, “we must,” turn it into the negative version, “we can’t.”
Isn’t the negative version of “we must” “we don’t want to”? And isn’t “I can’t” often the excuse version for ” I don’t want to” when people are actually afraid to openly refuse to do things or just don’t have a choice?
I am sure that there is situations where people just don’t know how to do it or had discouraging experiences, but I find that in very repressive or authoritarian or demanding work environments, when there is a lot of “we can’t”, it is a sign for unhealthy work environment, where people avoid open conflict through rendering themselves “incapable”. They just “can’t” instead of openly arguing about the tasks dumped onto them or give their opinion on what they find reasonable to do. It’s also often people who hate their job but are trapped there out of financial reasons. “I can’t” is there cover up, so to speak. In these case, I assume, the process doesn’t work, or does it?
Dear Morty, that´s awesome, please help me to keep this on mind, all times I need to do anything different and challenge.thank you
Hi Joyce,
This process is designed to work with I can’t … beliefs that are based on recent evidence of trying something a few times and discovering that it didn’t work. When the belief was formed in childhood, the source is different and you need to do all the steps of the Lefkoe Belief Process to make sure it goes away.
Not sure what you mean when you say you tried it with anxiety? Do you mean you feel anxiety when you think you can’t do things? If so, there are probably a lot more beliefs causing the anxiety than the one you are working on.
Regards, Morty
Hi Morry,
Does this method only work with company “I can’t” or can work for all other areas of life too? I’ve tried it many times on anxiety, but doesn’t seem to get rid of the I can’t thinking.
Can you give me advice?
Thank you Morry.
Absolutely amazing. I am really enjoying all that I am learning from you and have seen it in action in my own life. Thank you Morty!
Morty, great thoughts! How about golf? How would I go about finding out the beliefs that keep me from hitting shots on the golf course that I’m perfectly capable of time after time on the driving range?
I would try sentence completion. “I would hit that shot but…” and finish it, as many times as it takes until something interesting comes out.
You could also write affirmations, like “It’s just as easy to hit on the fairway as the driving range” and write down the objections that come to mind.
I think if you poked around this website you could find a lot more suggestions of relevant beliefs you could eliminate– sounds like Natural Confidence would be a good place to look.
Once again, you are totally amazing. :) I remember the first time I heard this process (in the room with a few CEOs). I was just stunned. The simplicity and the usefulness! I haven’t tried it at this job yet, but I look forward to doing so, any minute now. (our biggest can’t’er is away today) Also wanted to say I love the new look here.