Five Fallacies to Face Immediately

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I was scheduled to lead an Enneagram workshop for a team, but as the time approached, I was feeling anxious and uneasy about it. But why? This would be the third time training this particular team, and I felt comfortable with them. I had already been teaching the Enneagram for several years, so it wasn’t new material. Why was I feeling stressed?

Then it hit me. The last time I was with this team, we had a wonderful workshop. But as I walked to my car to leave, my friend Terri Joy called me. It was one of those calls when time stood still. Terri Joy informed me she had cancer in multiple places and didn’t know how much longer she had to live. It turned out that Terri had only three months left; she died on Christmas Day.

I didn’t realize it at first, but internally I was associating this particular team with Terri. The thought of walking into this workshop now reminded me of walking out of that workshop then. Of course, this team had nothing to do with Terri, but my brain had created a connection between them.

A fallacy is a false idea that undermines decisions and behavior. The fallacy I faced was that this team had something to do with Terri’s terrible news.

When I realized this, I called my wife. We talked and prayed, and I went into the workshop feeling relaxed and confident. This example shows the power of a fallacy. Throughout my career of working with people, I’ve come across certain fallacies. Unless we get free from them, we can be driven by the undetected fallacies we believe.

Let’s look at these five fallacies about life and work:

I don’t have time to focus on myself.
This fallacy makes you believe you don’t have time to work on yourself. You have too much to do, and spending time on yourself will cause a delay or failure in accomplishing what you have to get done. Looking inward will negatively impact your output.

My work and my interests are separate.
You believe that your work and personal interests should be kept separate. Work should be laborsome, undesirable, and hard—that’s why it’s called work. Work is not a place to foster your interests; interests should be kept at home.

I can do anything I put my mind to.
You believe you can do anything you put your mind to. As long as you believe it, you can achieve it. Your only limit is what you determine to do. You don’t pay attention to your natural abilities because they only restrict you from possibilities.

Working only for a paycheck is dishonorable.
You believe it’s dishonorable if a paycheck is your motivation to work. You feel guilty because you’re there only for the pay, while others say they’d even do this job for free. You feel “purpose shamed” in your work.

I can either be great at work or great at home but I can’t be great at both.
You believe you have to choose between success at work or success at home. These two realms are at war with each other. Either it will be work that takes away from life or your life that takes away from work. But either way, one will inevitably suffer.

The good news about fallacies is that they can be exposed and fixed! That’s one of the aims of the free 5-Day Ideal Life and Work Challenge. March 6-10, we’re taking one hour a day to help you create your ideal life and work mix.

With our Challenge, you’ll focus on you, your work, and how they fit with your life. You’ll master these five key areas that will make a huge difference for you:

• Day 1: Take a Full Life Inventory
• Day 2: Discover Your Work Mindset
• Day 3: Identify Your Core Values
• Day 4: Pay Attention to Your Personality
• Day 5: Create Habits and Action Steps

You should consider this challenge if you see yourself in one or more of these statements:

• You can stay busy but lose connection with yourself
• The arrangement of your life and work doesn't fit you anymore
• You make time for what's urgent but not for what really matters
• Over time, you have regrets about not pursuing your priorities
• You grind through your days and wonder where the joy went
• You find you are more "getting by" than truly thriving

But there is a better way! Don’t let these fallacies hinder you anymore!

Register for the Challenge today.