Colorado Springs Counselor: Steve Roberts, since 1991

I’d like to discuss a certain kind of belief that holds many people back.- Even folks who are quite capable and talented are held back from reaching their goals, having dreams, and becoming their full self. What holds them back is a concept called the “Absolute Presupposition.”  (The term was originally coined by the British philosopher R. G. Collingwood.)

An absolute presupposition a statement that is considered to be unquestionably, inarguably genuine. One cannot imagine circumstances under who it would be false. “Two plus two equals four” can be a statement of that kind. Another would be “Throw a ball up in the air, and it will fall back to Earth.” Absolute presuppositions are statements you have to accept for the world to make sense.

However, we sometimes mistakenly think a statement is an absolute presupposition when it is not. In fact, I’m going to suggest that when you are encountering an unusally tough problem in life, whether in business, the arts, sports, your personal life, or whatever, it’s probably because you are believing something to be an absolute presupposition that really isn’t. Let’s look at a few instances of this crippling people.

In the Middle Ages most people believed that if you sailed a ship out to the horizon then you would fall off what edge of the earth. Why? Because folks considered the Earth to be flat. For them, a round Earth was in simply inconceiveable. “The Earth is flat,” was an absolute presupposition. Yet, we know today that it wasn’t true at all.

Similarly, at one time it was thought to be impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes. This was an absolute presupposition for centuries. Yet, it was shown to be untrue when Roger Bannister did it. After Bannister, many runners have beat this time.

You and I today also have beliefs that are similar to “The Earth is flat” and “It is impossible for a human being to run a mile in under four minutes.” These beliefs are what hold us back from our greatest potential. It is time to question what we take for granted and wonder about what is really true. By identifying such beliefs, and by examining how we might break free of the constraints they impose upon us, we can begin to make incredible progress in all we want to do.