“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning” — Mahatma Gandhi
What is holding you back?
Is it your job? Is it the long commute? Is it too many demands on your time? Is it family obligations? Is it a coworker, boss, neighbor, friend, or loved one? Is it yourself?
What if it’s really none of these? What if it’s simply the belief that something is holding you back?
When we feel that something is holding us back, we tend to focus on what can’t or isn’t being done. We feel like we’re not enough. Self-limiting beliefs take root. Sometimes they take over. We become governed by fear and doubt. And we lose sight of what we can and do, in fact, do.
What is your fear or doubt preventing you from doing or seeing?
Your mind is a powerful reinforcing tool that will support whatever you imagine to be true. To prevent your mind from reinforcing self-limiting beliefs, ask yourself the following questions when you feel like something is holding you back:
- Is it true?
- Is it really true?
- How did I come to believe that it is true?
- What is an alternative explanation for this situation?
- If I changed my behavior or reaction, how might that change my beliefs?
- If I changed my beliefs, how might it change the outcomes?
Don’t let fear and doubt rule you. Change your focus from what is holding you back to what will propel you forward.
“People who regard themselves as highly efficacious act, think, and feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They produce their own future, rather than simply foretell it”— Albert Bandura
When you feel like something is holding you back, stop. Don’t let that belief take root. Focus on what you do well and have done well and will do well now.
