“I believe. Help my unbelief.”
These words from Mark 9:24 resonate with me big time.
My brain often holds conflicting thoughts—especially when it comes to my business.
In coaching we call this “cognitive dissonance” and it is like having your foot on the brake and the accelerator at the same time.
But there is a way to make peace with experiencing cognitive dissonance. When you learn the skill of building the beliefs that help you show up the way you want to while extinguishing the beliefs that drive behaviors that don’t serve you, cognitive dissonance is no longer the scary experience it is for most entrepreneurs.
How I First Learned To Build New Beliefs
I first learned this in a “business-adjacent” situation.
I’ve been a fearful flier all my life. Being scheduled to fly on 9/11/01 (yes, THAT 9/11) exacerbated that fear.
And in 2015, multiple trips involving air travel triggered months of nearly non-stop fear-producing thoughts.
The result: I developed clinical anxiety. The fear seeped into every facet of my life. I required Valium to manage the panic attacks.
In 2018, I hired a coach certified through The Life Coach School. I wanted to experience being coached by someone trained in the certification program I was about to begin.
My coach introduced me to some new tools for processing my anxiety and gaining more authority over the thoughts creating the panic.
My first Valium-free flight occurred in August of 2018. It was a living expression of “I believe. Help my unbelief.”
In my mind, the panic-inducing beliefs threatened to overpower the peace-producing beliefs.
The entire flight was an active wrestling match in which I continually prayed, processed my fear and redirected my thoughts.
I created a playlist of worship songs that were mostly prayers. I used the songs to prop up my ability to pray when the panic surged. It is a strategy I use to help me give equal air time to the thoughts I want to be believing when my default thoughts are all fear-focused.
I made it through that flight without having a panic attack.
I kept practicing my peace-cultivating thoughts.
The more I practiced them, the stronger my belief became that I could fly without medication and without panic.
This month, I flew for the first time since 2019. As the plane bounced through the hot, turbulent Texas sky, I was amazed at how little fight was left in my old fearful thinking patterns.
I can honestly say I was filled with peace and calm.
I silently sang along with my worship playlist—but not gripped with terror. This time I was bursting with gratitude.
Just as Jesus had compassion on the father who uttered “I believe. Help my unbelief” and healed the man’s son (Mark 9:25), Jesus compassionately healed my anxiety and replaced it with peace.
And knowing I had learned how to manage my mind and feel my feelings empowered me to travel to a conference where I made wonderful friends, learned important skills to grow my business, and had a lot of fun. I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on this fun experience…
We don’t need to wait until all cognitive dissonance is resolved to step out of our comfort zones.
As faith-driven entrepreneurs, we daily have opportunities to confront our fears, insecurities and the limiting beliefs cultivating our negative emotions.
We don’t have to play it safe and small when we have the right tools in our toolbox.
When you learn how to manage your mind and emotions, they no longer have the power to manage you.
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Imposter syndrome is transformed into confidence which has you showing up courageously and pursuing the call God put in your heart.
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Procrastination transforms into perseverance so you actually finish what you start and see your efforts produce fruit.
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Fear of failure is transformed into a willingness to take imperfect action and learn from the results—good or bad. And to do so with compassion for yourself rather than self-condemnation.
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Unbelief is transformed into belief.
These skills empower you to practically live out Romans 12:2
Where Does Cognitive Dissonance Show Up In Your Entrepreneurial (or Personal) Journey?
What does it feel like to consciously believe one thing but have the opposite beliefs showing up in your thoughts on autopilot? What is your “I believe. Help my unbelief” struggle?
I’d love to hear your answer and provide you with some tips and strategies specific to your situation. Share your response with me via the form on my Contact Page or DM me on Instagram or send me a message on Facebook.
Would you like to learn the skills to build the beliefs that move you in the direction of fulfilling your God-given purpose and let go of the fears, anxieties and old limiting beliefs keeping you playing small?
I can help you do that. Apply for a free Breakthrough Session and let’s explore how coaching can help you.
If you qualify for the call, we will meet together on Zoom to see if it makes sense for us to work together. On the call we will explore your dream outcomes and the challenges getting in your way from achieving those. I can offer you some perspective and highlight some strategies that can help you overcome your challenges and make your vision a reality.
Whether we decide to work together or not, my goal is for your Breakthrough Session to be the most valuable 45-minutes of your week.