Are you holding yourself back?

Stop holding yourself back. Haven't enough people tried that and failed?

~Me

Have you ever heard yourself say, "Geez, I need to get started on this."

It's the song of a heart that is filled with dreams that have been stored but never started. A myriad of excuses, a list full of great reasons, but a mind filled with 'why not's'... In my seasoned aged, I understand that there are some very functional reasons behind what is stopping us, and it's that person staring at you in the mirror. Yup, it's you...

Perhaps it's time to say, "It IS about YOU."

Take a look at a short list I created that might touch on some of the ways you can stop being that thing that is holding yourself back:

1. Change your attitude to reflect what you want to become.
Your attitude will either move you forward or backward. It’s significantly affected by what you believe since what you think determines the decisions you make. Your beliefs mainly stem from your past - what people said and did to you and what you concluded those experiences meant to you. Become aware of what people told you when you were a child and ask yourself if those statements were actually true. Study your accomplishments and your environment, go over what you have done so far and see if they align with the accused comments.

2. You know more than you think.
Stop selling yourself short by saying, “I don’t know” and instead say, “I will figure it out,” and ask yourself “How can I do this better?” You can ask for help and connect yourself to the right resources as part of your self-development journey so you can become more, know more, and prepare for the challenges ahead.

3. Do not allow defeat to win over triumph.
There are two kinds of memory banks. One is “Defeat,” and the other is “Triumph.” In the first you store all your memories of things you believe you haven’t done well; in the second, memories of times when you’ve succeeded. Everything you’ve ever experienced lives in one of these memory banks, which you will withdraw from in the future to inform your decisions. Your choice will educate your habits and behavior, which ultimately dictate your success and happiness.

4. Embrace mistakes as teachers.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are part of life. I have learned to love them. Though I don’t look to make mistakes often, they are my teachers in growth and self-improvement. If you really want something, you have to be prepared to seize opportunities, work hard for it, and never give up.

You have the power to overcome the limiting beliefs that stop you from realizing your full potential and creating happiness. 

It starts with the choice to stop giving them power and start seizing new opportunities.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should never quit anything. You need to set goals that align with your values.

If your values change along the way, as we all know may happen as we get older, it is okay to give them up and embark on a new journey.

Cheers.