Have you heard about this thing that psychologists call collective unconscious? I will tell you….this is not bullshit at all and this is something you feel. The first time I went to the US I was 21 years old. As a matter of fact, I think it was also the first time I was travelling by plane. I was working as an IT sys admin for an oil and gas service company and had a very nice boss that sent me to Houston for taking a 2 weeks training. I got to the US and I was amazed about the size of everything and the nice car I was driving (an automatic car! 🙂 ). It´s funny now to think about that but that trip was extremely important to reinforce some of my beliefs and to see how abundant the world could be. But I am loosing track…..collective unconscious….what is that thing? By my own definition, it is the group of beliefs mixed with the culture that most of the people share in a country. In Brazil, I can tell you that our collective unconscious is very destructive in several means.
Here are some our main beliefs that form our collective unconscious:
- Getting rich?? You cannot get rich without stealing or having rich friends
- God will punish you if you are too ambitious
- There are only poor people because business owners don´t pay enough
- Government should interfere heavily at the economy and regulate everything
- If I deserve that car (or whatever good), I will have because God will provide
- Too much money changes people and make them bad
- We work hard from monday to friday (and sometimes Saturdays) but on Sundays we have soccer, beer and barbecue
- Politicians will always be corrupt so it doesn´t matter who you vote for
- Working hard will end up making you sick
- We have been exploited since the Portuguese were here!
- We struggle and build nothing but what is really important is that we are happy!
- Don´t even try….that is too difficult!
- Brazil will always be a shit country! Brazilians are non sense, lazy and have the worst politicians on earth!
- That guy is a looser! He has failed 3 times already trying to open a business
- Second place is the first of the last ones! Silver medal? That´s nothing!
So how could you possibly overcome such beliefs if you are born in a place where you listen to those everywhere? NLP is certainly a good tool for that but that is a subject for another post. On contrary, the US has totally different beliefs and I always thought that this made a big difference for their success as a country. Let´s try to “convert” those beliefs to the american collective unconscious :
- If you work hard (and smart) you can get rich no matter where you come from
- God wants to see you wishing more from life. Be ambitious and generous!
- Working for someone is a voluntary exchange. If your job doesn´t pay enough, find another job.
- Government should be small and not interfere heavily at the economy
- If I work hard, God will help me giving the strengths to buy that car
- Too much money can make nice things for philanthropy (See Bill Gates)
- We work hard from monday to friday (or everyday) but our lives will improve
- Corrupt politicians always goes to jail
- The more I work, the more I learn
- Nobody can force me or exploit me without my consent
- We struggle to the end and we leave a legacy
- If you never try, you will never know (or better….don´t try. Do it!)
- USA will always be the greatest country! Americans are smart, hard workers and believe in the american dream!
- That guy failed 3 times! We should learn from him
- Vice-champion of the world! Silver medal!
Did I exaggerate? Not really. I felt that clearly the first time I went to the US. It´s a bit weird but you have the feeling that everything there is really possible. So could those beliefs change your mindset that quickly? Come to Brazil, learn some portuguese, take the subway going to the suburbs (that in Brazil are not considered nice areas) and check for yourself. People will be crushed like sardines in a can, will complain during the entire trip about how bad things are in Brazil, but when it gets to sunday, they forget about everything.
So what type of beliefs I try to “preach” at home for the kids? I am sure you know by now…
Stay in touch and “delete” your limiting beliefs! The world will be a better place…
The Mud Crush 