Challenging Assumptions for Personal Growth

"We have to have the courage to question our own beliefs because, oh, by and large, we have plenty of courage to question everybody else's beliefs. That's not the issue. The issue is do we can we look ourselves in the mirror, look at ourselves in the mirror, and question our own beliefs, and we start by questioning our own beliefs about ourselves?" - Perry Maughmer

Why Focus on 'Explore'?

Exploration isn’t just about seeking what’s unknown—it’s about questioning what we already believe. Real exploration requires “the courage to question”—especially when it comes to the stories we’ve told ourselves for years.

Most of our assumptions about ourselves and the world were given to us by parents, teachers, and our environment long before we ever got to choose them. The challenge? As adults, those stories can become so ingrained that we don’t even realize we’re operating from outdated beliefs.

The Power of Bracketing Assumptions

Here's the powerful concept of “bracketing”—intentionally setting aside your assumptions about yourself and the world so you can see things, perhaps for the very first time, without those old filters. Here are some ways to practice this:

• Confront the Known: What’s a belief about yourself you’ve never questioned? Try bracketing it for a week and see what shifts.
• Try Beginner’s Eyes: Walk into a familiar place and try to see it as if it’s brand new. What details do you discover?
• Question Your Language: Are you always telling yourself, “I can’t,” or, “I’m not that kind of person”? What if that story isn’t the whole story?
• Seek Discomfort Intentionally: The magic of exploration happens outside your comfort zone. What’s one unfamiliar thing you can try, just to see what happens?

00:00 "Challenging Our Predefined Beliefs"

03:23 Questioning Deep-Rooted Beliefs

09:05 "Seeing with Beginner's Eyes"

10:21 "Listen Without Prepping Responses"

15:38 "Embrace Discomfort, Separate Thoughts"

17:11 First Guitar Lesson with Son

20:39 Be Relentless and Intentional

Perry Maughmer believes the world deserves better leadership; that in every human interaction there is the opportunity to either build others up or tear them down; and that leadership is the choice we make in those moments.

These beliefs led Perry to create the Potential Leader Lab. He wanted to offer those who share his beliefs the space and safety to explore transformative ideas, experiment with new behaviors, and evolve into the leaders they were meant to be and that the world needs.

This is a framework he has used again and again with his Vistage peer advisory groups and companies like Turn-Key Tunneling, Convergint, Haughn & Associates, I Am Boundless, Ketchum & Walton, LSP Technologies, and Ahlum & Arbor.

Perry lives and works on the shores of Buckeye Lake in Ohio, in the mountains of northwest Georgia, and on the beach in Anna Maria, Florida with his amazingly creative wife Lisa. They have 2 rescue dogs and are intermittently visited by their 3 wonderful children throughout the year. Perry & Lisa are living life in crescendo and focused on exploring, experimenting, and evolving their vision of a life they have no desire to retire from.

Copyright 2025 Perry Maughmer