A couple of days ago I asked a group of people: What is holding you back from living the kind of life you want to live?
Ask yourself the same question. What is holding you back?
It’s a question I’ve been asking myself the last few weeks trying to find a disconnect I’m feeling between this big vision I’m seeing but not feeling. Is it fear that is holding me back? Or something else? Whenever I’m not sure I go on a journey of finding out.
We all know that our mind is extremely powerful and the old say “we are what we think” has truth to it. Our mind can help us move forward as well as hold us back.
A friend of mine posted this video and I knew I had to share it. It’s such a great way of explaining fixed mindset vs. growth mindset. I ordered the book Mindset by Carol Dweck right away and can’t wait to read it to learn more.
So what was your answer of what is holding you back? Maybe one or two of them coincide with the answers I got from the group of people I asked.
Money
Fear of failure
Fear of success
Having tried but failed and scared to try again
Motivation
Being lazy
Wanting to work for an organization but not sure how to get the dream job
Not having a plan
Lack of support
Responsibilities of family
Lack of time
Mindset of being stuck
Struggling / barely able to survive
Being told not being good enough
Personal doubt
Pleasing others (like family)
Nothing
Myself
The ones that answered Myself and Nothing understand that they are in 100% control of their life. That when it truly comes down to it we are in charge of our lives. We can control our minds, our emotions, our way of dealing with things, we can make decisions and therefore we can make the decision to not let things like money, fear, motivation, time, doubt or any other description hold us back but rather push through those so that we can go to where we want to go, assuming we know where we want to go of course.
I don’t want to discount that any of those are real feelings. They are. I deal with fear and doubt too. We all do or we would not be human. That said, it’s not always easy even when we recognize we are the problem as well as the solution.
This is when I should have some super awesome and simple ‘this is how you do it’ answer for you, provide you with the tools and all the awesomeness you probably expect for taking the time to read this blog post but the truth is, there is no simple answer. At least I haven’t found one.
Moving towards the kind of life we want to live is all about progress and investing in our growth. Pivoting forward as I like to call it. It’s about pushing through barriers and seeking answers. Learning. Trying. Experimenting. It’s about taking what works and throwing out what doesn’t. It’s about being brave. And being unreasonable. Not accepting the status quo. Not being willing to let things hold you back.
It’s about sticking to it instead of taking the easy way out and using excuses as your answer as to why you are not where you want to be. That’s where the brave comes in. Working hard to remove the excuses isn’t easy. But it’s worth it, it is your life after all we’re talking about.
If money is holding you back, what are you doing to fix that? If fear is holding you back, what are you doing to work through that? If family is the issue, what can you do to work with that?
Yes, I know…some things are beyond your control. If you’re 5 feet tall and want to be a NBA basketball player there may be a few challenges that are out of your control. But could you be involved with NBA in some other fashion? Instead of only looking at solution A or B, remember to look for C-Z too.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Be brave and leave a comment below.
Also, I’m opening up a new round of my Get Stuff Done accountability program where I kick your rear into gear and keep you accountable to your goals and achieving them. If you are using excuses as to why you haven’t achieved what you want, this is an excellent program for you. You also get productivity tips, tips on how to work smarter, not harder and tons of other resources.
What WAS holdin. Me back?mteying to do everything on my own. I have since wished up and have asked the right people for help.
What WAS holding me back? Me trying to do everything on my own. I have since wished up and have asked the right people for help.
It’s impossible to do everything on our own but I think that’s what most of us do…until we wise up and realize we thrive if we add an advisory board/team/community. Especially people that are where we want to be that can teach us. But it’s not always easy to ask for help.