Hurry.
Work hard.
Be the best.

Your mind is filled with rules like these.

They were created in response to hidden beliefs such as:

There’s not enough time.
Struggling is necessary.
I must prove my worth.

They’re stored in an internal “manual” you use to make decisions and evaluate life.

Most of the time, you’re unaware of this manual.

But your mind uses it to interpret the world around you.

It actively looks for evidence to support what you already believe.

Which reinforces the rules in your manual.

Manuals do serve a purpose: they save you from decision fatigue.

There’s so much sensory input flooding your brain every day that you must have a filter for what to notice and a set of shortcuts to guide your actions.

Imagine if you had to decide every day whether to brush your teeth.

But many of the rules in our manuals work against us.

As business owners, some of these are:

❌Never turn down work (any revenue is good revenue).

❌Don’t trust the competition (they’ll steal your clients).

❌Pay attention to every detail (you might miss something important).

If you’re not getting the results you want in your business or your life, evaluate your rules.

Start by completing these sentences:

1. I have to…
2. Money is…
3. Employees must…
4. Customers should…

The next time you feel frustrated, irritated, or disappointed, pause and ask yourself why you feel this way.

The answer will always point to a “rule violation.”

You’ll think, “This should not be happening.”

Most of the suffering in your life will come from this thought.

Because you’re resisting what is.

Whatever is happening is already occurring. You lose energy by railing against it.

Take that energy and use it to decide what to do next instead.

Create some new rules for how you’ll interpret the world around you, like:

✅Contribute first.
✅Always be curious.
✅Look for the lessons.