Imagine living under a cloud 24/7
Some people choose to live a stagnant life, without any form of personal growth. But if you’re reading this, you obviously do care about your progress.
You’re striving for progress, otherwise you wouldn’t read this. But sometimes, even the most optimistic people have limiting beliefs that hold us back from what we want. We all have certain ideas in our minds that hold us back.
I’ve seen too many people waste their potential and live unhappily because they can’t overcome those beliefs. Here are the most destructive limiting beliefs I’ve observed over the years. Get over these, and you will never live timidly again.
“I need to know everything before I start”
You hardly ever have 100% of the information you need before you start something new.
We often overthink things which leads to Analysis Paralysis. We get stuck in a thinking pattern, and we can’t decide. We keep going back and forth.
We’re afraid we’ll make the “wrong” decisions. And this holds us back. We all know this is a waste of time, and yet, we keep looking for answers before we do something.
But no one starts with all the answers. Even Warren Buffet started without knowing everything about investing. It’s the same for everyone. You learn along the way. But if you never start, you can’t do that.
“What if it doesn’t work out?”
Let’s say you want to start a business, find a new job, pursue a creative career, or anything else that requires time and energy to achieve.
A lot of us are already thinking way too far ahead. “What if it doesn’t work out and I end up wasting a few years. I’m probably better off staying where I am.”
That’s the kind of thinking that makes people miserable and regret their indecision later. Yes, things might not work out. It’s also possible that whatever you’re doing right now wouldn’t work out.
I have a friend who owns a restaurant. He thought it was the safest business he could get into. “People will always need to eat!” And his logic was spot-on. But we’ve seen how restaurants have become one of the hardest-hit industries during COVID.
Some people stay in jobs or businesses they don’t like because it’s “safe.” But the pandemic has shown there’s no “safe” job or business. We all have to adapt. So if you’re going to pursue something, it’s more practical to do what brings you joy.
“I don’t know what I want”
This is a limiting belief that most people never become aware of. They know that their career, health, or relationship is making them unhappy. And yet, they do nothing because “I don’t know what I want!”
I’m sure you know exactly what’s making you unhappy. They’re easy to identify when we introspect. This could be:
- An unsatisfying job
- A partner who doesn’t care
- A bad sleeping habit
- and so forth
I used to think the purpose of life is happiness. But as I pursued my goals, I realized that happiness is a by-product of action. If you don’t know what you want, you can start by improving the areas in your life that keep you from living well.
Personally, I’ve improved the quality of my life by beating procrastination. It starts with the small things. When we stop saying, “I’ll do it later,” we get a major boost in life.
“I don’t know how to do it”
One question I get a lot from people who want to join my class on starting a business is, “Does this work even if I don’t know how to build a website?”
I don’t get it. No one knows how to build a website by default. It’s not like we’re born with a WordPress manual pre-installed in our brain. You learn! This is also the same thing I tell people who say they don’t have “enough experience” to start something.
Stephen Covey once said this about experience:
“Some people say they have 20 years experience when in reality, they have 1 year’s experience repeated 20 times.”
There are no shortcuts to experience. It takes time to learn. But we can learn using efficient and effective methods. It’s all about the way you learn. You can read more about accelerating your learning curve here.
“It’s too late now”
There’s an opportunity cost to everything we do. We have all missed out on certain opportunities:
- Oh, I should’ve bought Apple stock in 2015… it’s too late now
- I should’ve started a blog in 2012 when it was still new… it’s too late now
- I should’ve switched careers when I was in my twenties…
“It’s too late now!”
Do you know what’s really too late? If you don’t start going after the things you want now. There’s no point in waiting for the “perfect timing.” Life isn’t a race. It’s a marathon. When I started my blog in 2015, there were a lot of people who were “ahead” of me.
But that didn’t matter. I blogged at my own pace and set my own goals. I remained true to what I want and need. And I just kept going consistently. Six years later, I realized I’ve overtaken many of the people who used to be ahead.
Fear is like living under a cloud
Imagine living under a cloud 24/7. When you’re at home, the cloud lingers above it. And it’s always overcast. When you look outside, even the flowers look grey.
The cloud even follows you wherever you go. You go to the Caribbean for a vacation. And the cloud is still there! You can’t shake it.
But then, one day, you say, “screw it.” You don’t look at the cloud anymore and do your own thing. Then, it disappears and the whole world is bright.
Your cloud is fear and the limiting beliefs you might have. When it disappears. You can start living without something that’s holding you back.
Author of 7 books, including Think Straight | My online course, Wealth Strategies, is now free: dariusforoux.com/wealth-strategies
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