High School Hacks: A student's guide to success in the IB and beyond by Brianna Smrke

Author:Brianna Smrke [Smrke, Brianna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Catt Educational Limited
Published: 2016-04-23T22:00:00+00:00

Do you ever think about the fact that you are moving through gas all the time? I am not talking about farts (though that happens sometimes!), I am just talking about the mixture of gases that make up our air; nitrogen, oxygen and argon. Because we can’t see them, or really feel them, we tend to act like there is nothing around us. The fact remains that, all of the time, we are wading through these gases. Of course, when we have to hold our breaths, we remember that it is is not just ‘nothing’ that we have to inhale a few times a minute. Assumptions are kind of like that too. They are all around us, and without them we would find it very hard to live. It’s simply too difficult and exhausting not to have opinions about ourselves and others. If we had to determine whether our parents had our best interests at heart each time we interacted with them, we would become anxious and distracted. Instead, we assume that our parents will support us, or that our school will still be open tomorrow, or that we will have to choose a career at some point in our lives. We make assumptions about so many different things, and most of them are harmless, if not helpful.

Still, there is a class of assumptions that need to be dealt with more carefully. These assumptions need to be carefully tested. They will be different for every person, but the main feature they share is that they are limiting. These assumptions keep you from attempting or achieving your goals. For example, you might decide that a career in dance is not for you because “No one makes money in the arts.” Or, you might decide that you need to party a lot at university, rather than spending most of your time studying your area of interest because “That’s what everyone does.” On a broader level, there are larger limiting beliefs that come from your culture and upbringing. Your parents or family may have instilled in you the idea that making a hefty salary and living comfortably is the main point of your life. Or, you might believe that accumulating material possessions is more important than continuing your education. These limiting beliefs aren’t always wrong (the lifestyle of a dancer can be quite difficult to manage, but there are many other careers in the arts that can offer you a more stable lifestyle if that is what you really want), but because so many of your important decisions will be shaped by them, it is very important to make sure that they are right for you.

The first step towards assessing a limiting assumption is sensing that it is there. I can sense that I am dealing with one of these beliefs when I am feeling very trapped and negative about a situation or decision. I can almost sense the belief as a set of iron bars that has dropped around me. Perhaps a phrase that your parents often say to you sets off the same kind of emotional reaction.

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