Unlocking those beliefs that hold us back

So…
As you may have guessed my regular exercise of choice is
swimming. About a month ago a leaflet dropped
through the door to advertise our local gym. I had been using the swimming pool
at the local leisure centre however I calculated that I would actually save
money if I joined the gym as it contained a decent sized pool.
On my first day the lady informed me that I would need a
padlock to secure my valuables in one of the lockers. ..
And..
for £5 I could purchase a shiny new one . Now this seemed
like a reasonable price for a combination lock until I actually got it out of
the packet.
Because there in front of me was the most cheap- looking
padlock I had ever seen… a padlock so shiny and light I thought it was
plastic.
‘What a piece of rubbish’, I told myself as I struggled to
set a combination code I could remember.
So for the next few weeks I diligently swam every other day,
looking with distain at this awful security device each time I got changed.
What made it even worse was the shininess meant it picked up the intensity of
the changing room spotlights above so I could barely read the numbers. This
often resulted in me taking a couple of minutes to fiddle the right combination
into position.
Then last week disaster struck. After taking my shower I once
again struggled to locate those magic three numbers. However many times I
tried it the lock wouldn’t budge.
I was beginning to get annoyed… very annoyed!
Five minutes later I was still there, dripping away,
desperately trying and retrying to locate my code. Finally I felt I had no other
option than to seek help.
So off I went to find a member of staff.
This involved me having to head into the main gym area in my towel, much to the
bemusement of other members. After finally locating a member of staff I explained my
frustration with their cheap lock which had left me in this rather embarrassing
predicament. He calmly followed me into the changing room and had a look at the
lock, tried the combination.. without success and then asked me if this was my
locker.
Now I was really getting cross… ‘Of course it’s my locker’
I replied desperately trying to keep my cool. Interestingly there were four
neighbouring lockers with the exact same padlock securing their owners
valuable.
‘Well I wonder if this really is my locker‘I thought to
myself.
Sheepishly I attempted to unlock the neighbouring locker and
without any trouble the lock pinged open in front of me.
Of course the member of staff was desperately trying not to
laugh as I apologised for the inconvenience caused.
Reflecting on my way home I wondered how I didn’t even think
to try the neighbouring lockers even though it was the logical thing to do.
Simply…
my belief about the quality of the lock has got in the
way of all logic and reason, fogging my mind and preventing me from thinking
straight.
And in business, how many times do we hold onto a belief that
gets in the way of decisive decision making and logical thought.
Worth a thought perhaps?

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