High performance is as much mental as it is anything else. If you’ve ever felt like you’re holding yourself back, it is probably worth digging into your mindset. To remove limitations, the first step is to become aware of those thoughts so that you can reframe them.
I’m re-reading a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer called, “Excuses Begone!” In one of the first chapters, Dr. Dyer wrote:
“The only thing an excuse gives you is an option out of the life that you’d like to live. Words like difficult, risky, can’t, not strong, not smart, rules, too big, and too complicated excuse you from being the kind of person you’d like to be and were destined to become.”
He goes on to write just a few sentences later:
“Excuses are evidence that you’ve discarded a way of thinking that’s all-powerful for one that’s all-limiting.”
When I coached cheerleading, my athletes were never allowed to say the words, “I can’t.” Instead, they were allowed to say something like, “I’ll try.”
As I continue the journey of my own personal evolution, I am focusing on becoming more aware of my mindset. My goal is to get out of my own way by observing my negative thought habits in the moment and then reframing them into something that’s real. (Anxiety has a way of leading you to think all sorts of wretched things for absolutely no reason at all.)
If you have big goals, you have to be willing to do the inside work. Your emotions, your thought habits, and your mindset will derail you if you’re not careful. These things can easily become excuses (i.e., blocks).
I have found that honoring how you feel by simply recognizing your emotions and thoughts without judgment is a really important step in this process. For example, I might find myself overthinking about everything that could go wrong. I can handle this by:
As you practice this, you might notice a pattern. For example, when things get scary, I overthink about what could go wrong. This then becomes a limitation that is stopping me from being my best.
Keys to the Game:
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