What is the meaning of a paradigm shift? A paradigm shift is a shift in the belief system or unconscious mind which can bring about lasting change. Unless someone alters their deeply held ideas, they will keep perpetuating the same experiences and outcomes. A paradigm is a belief about the world, or yourself. Most people will struggle to change an element of their life because of an existing paradigm.
For example, if someone wants to lose weight, they join the gym. After a short burst of enthusiasm, the old habits take hold and they stop going. Soon it becomes a huge burden to get to the gym and workout. They give up and fall back into old habits. This is a common experience whether you’re trying to lose weight, make more money or learn something new. The continual thought processes which bring about and perpetuate your self image and beliefs are far stronger than the desire for change. This is why changing a paradigm is one of the most powerful things you can do for lasting change.
Paradigm Shift Meaning – Paradigm Shift Examples
To shift a paradigm can be difficult. As a young child a lot of information is absorbed into the subconscious mind without any conscious awareness. As an adult, we pick and choose what we find acceptable and can filter out those things we don’t believe. But a child doesn’t have this filtering system. So they absorb a lot of unconscious messages from parents and teachers which remain in the subconscious mind for decades, often without their awareness.
These programs can stop you from achieving something difficult, especially if there is a conflict within your belief system. For example, if you have received any negative programming around making money, (which most people have), this can stop you from attaining a financial goal. Your inner paradigm may have a negative belief about money which you picked up from a parent:
“Money doesn’t grow on trees”, “rich people are greedy”, “life is tough”, “making money is hard”, “you must work hard for money” are all examples of negative beliefs surrounding money. Negative behaviours you picked up can also affect your beliefs around money, even if they were unspoken.
If your paradigm around money is “you must work hard for money”, you’ll experience this as a reality because you won’t accept anything else.
Paradigm Shift Meaning – Shifting Your Paradigm
Paradigms are powerful because they operate unconsciously “below the radar”. So if you’ve struggled with something in life, chances are good that it’s because of some unconscious negative belief about yourself or life. If you’re struggling losing weight, for example, shifting your paradigm can be more powerful than running several marathons!
If you see yourself as overweight and lazy, for example, whatever you do consciously in terms of fitness can be easily overcome by a negative self image. The problem with an inner paradigm is that it follows you wherever you go! After the gym, you might fall back towards a bad diet. You might drink heavily and undermine whatever good you have done. Shifting your paradigm from “I’m overweight and lazy” to “I’m an athlete”, for example, can be more powerful than constantly struggling against this internal conflict.
Changing a paradigm which has been embedded since childhood is difficult. You will have had years of perpetuating your beliefs about yourself and constantly reinforced ideas which you repeat in your mind.
“I’m not good enough”, “I’m not worthy”, “Life is tough”, “no-one likes their job”, “It’s a struggle” etc are all negative statements which can solidify a negative paradigm over time. Paradigms are belief systems which can either adversely affect or positively affect your life in some way. To change your paradigm for a more positive one, you need to choose some better beliefs which support your new intention.
Repetition
10 years of repetition of a negative belief will have an impact on your life and well being. It can stop you from living a fulfilling and happy life. To change your old paradigm, you need to replace negative conditioning with new positive statements. “Making money is difficult” for example could be changed for “money comes easily and frequently”. “Work is hard”, could be changed for “I love what I do”. Or “I get paid for being me”.
Of course older repetitions of negative statements will likely have been following you around for many years. So changing them can be tough. You will be inclined to believe your negative statements more than your new, more positive ones. So at first you may resist doing the necessary work to make lasting change. But if you’re serious about changing your paradigms, it’s well worth the effort.
Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. So if you believe work should be hard, you won’t find enjoyable or satisfying work. If you believe you’re not worthy of a happy life or relationship, you’ll keep sabotaging your outer efforts to make it come about.
Paradigms and Entrepreneurialism
Since this is a site about entrepreneurialism and affiliate marketing, it seems suitable to mention the connections here. With an entrepreneurial endeavour, such as building an online business, there can be all sorts of metal blockages which prevent you from making progress. Many of these can be paradigms which relate to money or work. If you’re an employee attempting to build an online business, old habits and ideas can hold you back. See mindset shift from employee to entrepreneur.
The mindset of an employee, for example, is one which trades time for money. You expect to get paid for the time you put in. In entrepreneurship, it’s different. You don’t get paid for time, but for results. This can explain why so many would-be entrepreneurs quit when they don’t get paid for their time. See affiliate marketing failure rate. They assume that a certain period of work pays a certain amount of money. They have learned this through working a job. But with a business, you don’t get paid for your time. Often entrepreneurs put in months without even getting paid for it.
This attitude may not be apparent to the business owner, and might just add to their frustration. After several months of hard work and nothing to show for it, they quit because they can’t envisage their business working. They remain at their old job and this further entrenches their ideas about how they must “work hard for money”. Although this belief may be true for them, it may not support a new self image as an entrepreneur, but rather reinforces their old self image as someone who trades time for money (and works hard).
Paradigm Shift Meaning – Summary
The meaning of paradigm shift is to alter your unconscious belief systems. Beliefs, self image and world views are picked up at childhood and these ideas are entrenched into the subconscious mind. They control behaviour and when attempting something new, can stand in the way of progress. For example, if you’re attempting to lose weight, but you see yourself as fat and lazy, your controlling paradigm (belief) will have more power than your attempts on the “outside” to lose weight and stay in shape. You give up and fall back to old habits.
By changing your paradigm, through conscious repetition of a new idea, in addition to outward actions, you can create far greater and more lasting changes than by outward actions alone. Seeing yourself as an athlete, for example, will create additional behaviours which align with this new belief. Your actions will include physical activities and improved diet. You won’t slob out or fall into old unconscious behaviour patterns because that’s simply not what an “athlete” would do!
But if you continue to perpetuate an old self image, you’ll continue to sabotage your efforts by continually reinforcing this idea of your self.