You have limitations.
It isn’t often you read a blog post that is intended to encourage and inspire, yet starts off telling you that you have limitations, but it’s true. We all do. It doesn’t matter where you live, what you believe, or what you do to earn money, there are areas of your life in which you can only do so much. Accepting this is important because (here comes the encouraging part) it is the first step to moving beyond your limits.
Let’s say you have accepted this and are ready to grow in whatever way is necessary so that you can surpass your present abilities. What’s the next step? What do you have to do in order to ignite a change? There may be more than one answer to this question, but I know of one way that will jump start the process. I know because I have used it myself many times and it has never failed me. Here it is:
Put yourself in unfamiliar situations.
My first business presentation
What I mean by that is that if you are going to improve any area of your life you are going to have to think in different ways, and do things you’ve never done before. Maybe you apply for a job you’ve never done, or start your first business, write your first article or book. It can look like most anything, but the point is that by doing something you are not familiar with, you get familiar with it. You get that? It’s like riding a bike, or learning to surf or skateboard. At one point you had never done it, and the first time you tried it felt weird. You probably felt like you couldn’t do it, and maybe you were even terrified. After a while, because you kept at it, you not only became familiar with it, you got good at it.
Those of you who have been following me a while know that a few months ago I rid myself of nearly all material possessions, threw what was left in my car and hit the road. Why did I do that? Well, it wasn’t because I was running away from something, or felt like I needed an extended vacation. I did it because there were things I wanted to do, but couldn’t because I needed to grow into the person that could. For me, that meant walking way from everything that was familiar in my life. No longer was falling back on an old crutch or habit even an option because I left it all behind. I have a lot yet to learn, but already I have done and am doing things
Saying goodbye to my mom & sister
that were not possible just a short time ago.
I recognize that, for many, doing something like that is a bit extreme. It is, but it was the right thing for me at the time. What is right for you may look different, and that’s cool because it doesn’t really matter. The key is to step out of the familiar, and expand and grow until it becomes familiar. When that happens you are a different person, and you have changed your limitations. You have set the bar higher for yourself, leveled up, and are ready for even greater things. This process never ends by the way. It’s just how we keep evolving as people and becoming better equipped to leave our mark on the world and in the lives of others. When you see others do great things, you accept it almost without question. Give yourself the same benefit of the doubt. You are capable of more than you realize.
You can apply this concept to most anything. What is something that you want to do, but have not yet tried because it makes you uncomfortable, nervous, or scared?
Name it, then go do it.
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