Phaim (fāme) — Larry Becker’s Blog

Prejudice Can Hold You Back

Posted on 08 February 2010

At the risk of stepping on a landmine, I’m gonna use some words today that are sometimes incendiary and trigger negative reactions at times. This is not intended as a political statement. It’s ultimately about a question you might ask about yourself.

Prejudice and bigotry is wrong. Unfortunately, some people you’ll encounter in life are racists, bigots, or think negatively about others because of age, religion, where they live, what they drive, the music they like, tattoos & piercings, you know the drill. Today’s post isn’t about them or how to change or even deal with them. —  I want to talk about you and your prejudices. But not about how you might or might not be prejudiced against others. I want to talk about how you might be prejudiced against… yourself.

In my position as NAPP’s Exec Director, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting thousands of NAPP members at various events. Sometimes I have the chance to see the work our members do and lots of times it’s great work! Then when I tell some of these gifted photographers and designers how impressive their work is, I occasionally hear, “Thanks! But I’m too young for ad agencies to take me seriously,” or too old, or something else along those lines.

There’s a problem that’s bigger than just understanding you’ve got an issue with your own self-definition. The problem is that, this is a kind of “prejudice” that serves you well and it becomes an excuse for not trying. You think, “Well, I know I don’t hate myself so it’s okay for me to think of myself as too young, or old, or a particular race, religion, or just because I’m  _______ (fill in the blank with your own self-limiting belief), ’cause other people will judge me that way. I’ve been judged that way in the past so it’s not really my prejudice.” — Yes it is. Essentially you’ve bought into someone else’s prejudice and it serves you by giving you a reason for not even trying. Think about it this way, if you don’t go ahead and try, then it isn’t the prejudice of someone else that’s holding you down, it’s your prejudice that’s actually holding you back.

Maybe your self-limiting belief isn’t technically “prejudice,” but it’s still just as limiting. Some other limiting beliefs are things like, “I don’t have enough money to start my business, buy the camera I need, do advertising… etc.” or “I’m not a good enough photographer/designer yet. I need to get better before I start asking people to pay me for my freelance work.” Truth is, just because you’ve been judged as inadequate in the past because of someone else’s prejudice, that doesn’t mean the next decision maker will be equally short-sighted.

The good news is that, frequently, if you can just see something that’s holding you back (recognize your own limiting belief), you can overcome it. If that’s you, go to it. No more self-limiting excuses. Do whatever you’ve been putting off.

But some people need a little proof. Tune in tomorrow for a little proof.

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