Our thought processes are incredibly powerful, they can-and often do-alter the trajectories of our lives. They govern all sorts of things; what goals we aim for, what exercises we do, what promotions we apply for, and so much more. Once we decide to remove the limiting beliefs we have, there is often very little than can stand in our way. Sadly, the reverse is also true; deeply installed limiting beliefs will absolutely hold someone back, especially if these beliefs are core to the identity. We can accomplish so much, if we could just get out of our own way. Life is far too short to not unleash everything we are capable of.
I used to work for a major Fortune 100 employer. A group of us were sitting around a table one day for lunch, and the topic of open opportunities came up. One member of our usual break-time crew stated that he was interested in one of the openings but wasn’t going to apply for it. I urged him to go for it, using the line of thinking that even if the event was a swing-and-a-miss, he’d still get a lot of valuable feedback out of it, as well as getting the higher-ups to view him in that light. The reason I shared that with him at the time is because I had recently gone through that very experience; I went through a grueling five-round interview process for a promotion but was denied, though a lot of good came out of it. His response? I don’t like to miss. I was absolutely stunned when I heard that, to the point of being speechless. While well-intended on his part, all I could think of at the time was how limiting that was. He was certainly qualified for the job-both on paper and in terms of aptitude. I started to wonder what other areas of his life is the I don’t like to miss mentality holding him back. Did he have that mentality as a star athlete in high school? The world would be in a much worse place if mankind only aimed for things we could obtain with 100% certainty.
Another example happened much more recently; I was visiting someone close to me and the topic of sweet potatoes came up. I mentioned how much I enjoy that starchy vegetable, though I was met with the retort of I’ve never tried them before; they’re orange. They don’t look right, so I’m not going to try them. Much like my former colleague, this saddened me to a certain extent, this was such a limiting thought process to have. How far did that line of thinking go, beyond limiting most of the world’s cuisines? Does it extend to watching movies they’ve never seen before? Taking a new route to work? Playing a new board game? This train of thought is essentially being okay with staying in your comfort zone. Again, mankind would be in a worse spot in many aspects if we all collectively had this limiter installed.
A few days after I turned 26, I hopped on a flight to Spain to participate in the annual Running of the Bulls event in Pamplona. It was a difficult, stress-inducing trip that pushed me physically, mentally and emotionally. Part of this reason for all of that growth was that before this trip, I had never even been more than a two-hour drive outside of my hometown: much less ever on a plane, to a foreign country, or required to speak my non-native language before. When I share that story, I’m often told how bold or savage I was. But in these compliments (or insults?) reveal the limiting nature of the person saying them; indirectly they are saying That was difficult, maybe you shouldn’t have done that. Thankfully, I chose not to heed the advice; I got a lot out of that trip, as unenjoyable as it was. Taking on difficult challenges is at the core of what it means to accomplish something meaningful.
Unless you’re perched atop of Maslow’s Pyramid as the completely self-actualized human, then chances are you have some limiting beliefs installed. The task then is to find out what these beliefs are, and just as importantly, remove them. Often, the trouble is that these limiting beliefs are so easy to spot in others when we’re an objective observer on the outside. However, these limiting beliefs can be hard to spot in ourselves (myself included). Thankfully, once the limiter has been removed, you’ll finally be that much more able to pursue whatever goal you’re truly passionate about. Or maybe I’m just being judgmental.
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