Limiting beliefs are dangerous

One kilometre from the Maldives, you can’t see them. That’s because most of the islands are less than half a metre high.It wouldn’t take long for the entire archipelago to drown in rising seas. What would become of the people who live here then?I asked myself this question while treading water somewhere off Velassaru Island (4 degrees South, 73 degrees East, to be exact). I wasn’t just enjoying the wonderfully warm sea: our mission was to swim the 140km breadth of the archipelago to draw attention to its fragility. But our support boat’s engine was broken; we were stranded. And the wind was picking up.I could see a rather large yacht on the horizon. I’d heard that Roman Abramovich kept a boat in these waters. What chance that the boat was his? And would the owner of the Chelsea Football Club care enough to come to our rescue? Expedition leader Tim Toyne Sewell made a phone call. Minutes later, the yacht began steaming towards us.Limiting beliefs are dangerous because we don’t know we have them. They stop us asking for what we need. We worry that people will say no. But more often than not, they say yes.