CAPSULE | READS: Liminal Thinking

Key takeaways on: The Space Between, Making Space for Change & Destruction to Creation

ON THE SPACE BETWEEN: The psychological agility to read your own beliefs enables you to create change where others cannot.

• Beliefs are agents of change; the ability to evaluate, validate and/or change them allows you to see things you’ve always seen, in ways you’ve never seen.

ON MAKING SPACE FOR CHANGE: Adopt a beginner’s mind by increasing curiosity & suspending disbelief.

• Release the idea of feeling like an idiot to truly understand, truly care and truly value what you are doing by asking questions + making connections.

ON DESTRUCTION TO CREATION: Sometimes, to create new structures, the old ones must be destroyed so the blocks can be combined in different ways.

• You can’t have creation without some form of destruction, so your structure of beliefs must change continually if you are to stay on top of things.

Liminal | Latin root for threshold / border / boundary / marginal in between space / neither one or the other / old way vs new way

> having a thought in the shower, not realizing that you had it because you weren’t focusing on it

Seeing things you’ve always seen, but never seen.

A new way of seeing opens doors to new possibilities.

Belief is a material to create change.

“Once you see the boundaries of your environment, they are no longer…”

6 Principles of Beliefs: Beliefs about beliefs

1. Beliefs are models:
   > Imperfect models navigating multi-complex noble results
2. Beliefs are created:
   > If we can create it, we can change it
   > By reinforcing positive beliefs and behavior, we can rewire our brain | over
   > A story in our head, a cause and effect chain
   ➡ like a recipe — if you need something, then look for a belief that provides a rule for action to get the result you want (if x, then y)
   > a learning loop is a continuous cycle the creates habits and behavior
   ➡ learning how to learn compared to a pyramid of beliefs
3. Beliefs create a shared world:
   > co-creating shared worlds are social agreements that go unspoken which makes them invisible
   > A byproduct of ongoing interactions
4. Beliefs create blind spots:
   > limiting beliefs narrow the range of possibilities
   ➡ liminal thinking is a way to identify limiting beliefs
5. Beliefs defend themselves:
   > if it doesn’t make sense within your bubble, you’re going to think it’s wrong
   ➡ liminal thinking encourages testing new ideas that are outside your bubble of beliefs to protect personal identity and self worth
6. Beliefs are tied to identity:
   > what we experience, what we think, what we value are all interconnected to how we live, how we perceive and how we relate to things & people form our identity.

9 Practices to Change the Way You Think

1. Assume That You Are Not Objective
   > your biggest blindspot is yourself
   > if you are part of the system you want to change, you’re part of the problem
2. Empty Your Cup
   > in order to learn anything truly new, you must empty your cup
   > take on a beginner’s mind — a mind of openness + curiosity, suspend disbelief
   > rewire your brain in times of change
3. Create Safe Space
   > we achieve results when we care, are cared for, valued
   > understanding is core
4. Triangulate & Validate
   > consider possibilities that may not immediately resonate with you
   > look at situations through multiple perspectives, avoid pushing away what doesn’t match your view of the world
5. Ask Questions & Make Connections
   > approach life with openness to create new opportunities
   > be curious about others and explore human psychology
6. Disrupt Routines
   > get outside of the situation to at it deeper
   > disrupt problematic routine by attacking the solution instead of the actual problem
   > disruption of the typical pattern changes the dynamic completely
7. Act as in Here and Now
   > test beliefs even if you don’t consider them to be true
   > see what happens when you test a belief without any attachment to the outcome
8. Make Sense With Stories
   > the best way to share a belief is to tell a story
   > share facts through stories
9. Evolve Yourself
   > sometimes to create new structures the old ones must be destroyed so the blocks could be recombined in different ways
   > our structure of beliefs must cockle continually if we are to stay on top of things

Introducing Reads as a capsule in the Learn Segment. Each week for the remainder of the year, we’ll be extracting key takeaways and notes from 26 books read in 26 weeks as a practice to nourish learning. Join us in the (re)wiring!