“Your only limit is you.” I found this quote as I was scrolling through Pinterest, looking for inspiration for this article. Looking for something that I could link with the work that I do and that truly reflected a challenge that my clients face; something that would make my readers pause, consider, and reflect…
This quote is like a well-placed punch. OUCH!
Your only limit is you….
True. In the past two years, I’ve faced down some of my own fears, internal messages, and belief systems and tossed them out. I’ve tossed them out because they were NOT serving my needs. They weren’t helping me grow personally or professionally. In fact, they were holding me back.
Let me be really clear here. These fears, messages, and beliefs have been with me for a very long time. They weren’t messages that anyone else was communicating to me, or that anyone else had said to me any time in the last two decades. In fact, I only remember hearing messages from my parents about how I could do anything I wanted, if I set my mind to it and worked hard.
So, two years ago, I started to explore these internal messages and where they had come from. … How they had grown to take on such a BIG role in my day-to-day life and thoughts?
I concluded that some thoughtless remark, likely made by someone in passing, planted a seed of doubt, negativity, and vulnerability. The seed then germinated, reached out looking for defenseless areas in my psyche, and began to grow; slowly but surely. Its’ root system – ever reaching and seeking – became entrenched in my brain until it began to dominate my thoughts and it was harder to ignore.
I know I am not the only one who has experienced this. I speak to individuals on a daily basis who struggle with internal messaging and how to shift their thinking from dwelling on the undesirable to focusing on optimistic, self-affirming thoughts. I suspect it will be a life-long struggle, but one that gets easier with self-awareness and continued diligence.
Each time I allow myself to be vulnerable, to really explore these messages with friends, colleagues, and business associates, the power of these negative thoughts decreases. These wonderful cheerleaders remind me of what is good, great, and valuable about who I am, what I do, and how I approach life. They help me shift my language from “I’m not good enough” and “I haven’t worked hard and long enough” to “I deserve it” and “I’m worthy” and “I’ve got what it takes.”
If you are interested in lessening the power of your negative internal messages, learning how to change your thinking your disparaging internal messages and replacing them with affirmative messages that help you soar, achieve, and blossom, check out our new THRIVE program where we use conversations to help you do exactly that!
Do you struggle with negative internal messages? What do you do when they come up? How do you lower the volume and ensure you move forward? Share your thoughts, observations and questions in the comment box below.