Never let limitations stop you. Yes, they can be an unpleasant set back and even a road block, but the truth is that in many cases can be avoided or bypassed. Limitations can be real or we just think they are real. I bet there were times when you said “I cannot do it because this or that”, but to be honest with yourself – is that the truth or you just gave up too quickly and accept the fact that it cannot be done? There always are alternatives to what there is and what you have.
Limitations in the form of limiting beliefs
Let’s talk about limiting beliefs and the times you said to yourself that you cannot do something. Sometimes it’s just easier to give up than go on and face the fact that what you want is tough to achieve but not impossible. Sometimes we tend to emphasize the limitations to the extent that we start to really truly believe that something cannot be done. Thou in truth it is just tough, but yet again, not impossible.
It’s crucial that we stress the impact that limitations in the form of limiting believes have on us. I cannot count the times a girl said to me that she can’t measure up to what her male colleges do. Guess what? Only a few of those words and assumptions were actually true. Yes, there are things you cannot do as a girl since both genders have their limitations. But the actions that require a brain, a pair of hands or legs can be done just as good whether you are a lady or a gentleman. Therefore you should never ever believe that you are anything less just because you are a woman.
Don’t let in the negative
Many, many times we believe in something that doesn’t encourage and empower us, but rather put us down instead. Limiting believes and with them limitations start forming the second we start to believe the negative things said to us. They are also triggered by the negative actions done to us that make us feel inferior or by statements that put us in place someone thought we belong but in truth we do not. It is so easy to let in the negative, sometimes even before we even know it. Many of the limitations might even come from our childhoods. Have you ever believed that you are just not “the person” for the job or you are just never going to be this or that? Ask yourself – why do you believe that?
In life you have to take responsibility for your decisions as well as for what you believe in. So stop believing in your limitations and be true to yourself about what the limitations actually are and why you let them control your life.
Limitations as an excuse
Limitations are a really convenient excuse not to do something: “It’s raining so I can’t go running, I might get sick.” Convenient isn’t it? You just got yourself a free pass from running, because you, not will, but might catch a cold. How about you ditch the excuse and go? If you catch a cold, you’ll get better soon, I promise. And if you continue to run in the rain, I promise you eventually won’t get sick, because your body will adapt.
Limitations can also come in the form of relinquishing control – I can’t go hiking, I have no physical condition. Well … You might not come to the top today, but you can start. And if you go hiking every week, eventually you will come to the top of any hill or even mountain.
Think about the disabled. They would probably give all away to be in your place, to be able to go running or hiking. For them even taking out the trash or going to the bathroom might be a big challenge. They put in their maximum effort to do their daily tasks despite their limitations. To be honest I have never met a disabled person who enjoys being taken care of all the time. Do you even realize how easy, compared to them, are those task for you and how lucky you are to be able to walk up the hill or run in the rain? Rain or lack of physical condition are simply not your limitations, they are your excuses!
Just don’t …
Don’t ever use your limitations as an excuse. Do your best to bypass them by all means. If not, be prepared to take the fall for it. If you are lazy enough to settle that your limitations are your roadblock without even making any effort towards bypassing them, don’t feel guilty or complain about it. Let it go, there’s nothing wrong with it. Some thing are just not worth the effort. You be the judge of that. Just make sure to stop making excuses. They won’t get you anywhere.
So … Think again: are those limitations actually limitations or you just let them be and convert them into a convenient excuse?
Failures as limitations and an excuse to stop
How many times you failed and gave up? If you failed, it must not meant to be, right? The truth is that failure can discourage you to go further and try again, but usually that’s the exact thing you have to do. Failures might look as limitations, but do not get discourage to try again. If you want to succeed you have to try, try, try.
If your plan, plan A, didn’t work, make a new one. A better one. As the matter of fact, make more of them, the English alphabet has 22 more letters and others have even more.
Always think outside the box and find a new way for the plan to work, a new way to success. No matter what you tried, there almost always are some more things you can try.
Bypass your limitations
Always focus on what you have and what you can work with. And stop thinking of what you don’t have and all the things you can’t. Make the best of it.
Yes, you might be broke and can’t afford a gym membership or a personal trainer. But don’t let that limitation stop you, because you absolutely can do your workout at home. Youtube provides so many workout channels which can help you get in shape. It’s the same with the education. You can learn so many things on-line or through the books borrowed in library.
Do you remember Bear Grills? If he was sitting around in the wild bitching about he has nothing to eat, he would be long gone, don’t you agree?
And another way to encourage yourself to bypass your limitations: ask yourself if someone before you did the thing you are trying to achieve. There are so many people on Earth, I bet it was done before. So it is possible. Why wouldn’t you be the next one who made it possible?
Limitations as a guidance
If a little child has every toy he wants available and always gets what he wants, well, lets just say he’s quite cranky most of the time. It is not much fun to have everything at your fingertips all the time. Besides sometimes is more fun to play inside the limitations or boundaries than have every asset available. It sucks the magic out of the wishing and putting in the effort towards getting it. Not to mention how you feel when you finally get something you’ve worked so hard towards it.
Sometimes the limitations are a good thing. Well, to be honest, many times they can be a good thing. If you have an important exam or a big goal you want to achieve, it’s a good idea to set some limitations to yourself to limit the time and effort to the one thing you have to do. This might be cutting back on your social media time or set the time when you study and do not think about anything else. Not to mention, if you currently are on a diet, you have most definitely set some limitations about what not to eat, right?
Set some limitation for yourself that will help you to achieve your goals, make the limitations your friends. Cut back on the time that blurs your focus and set the rules to follow towards your goal. Choose them wisely.
Overcome your limitations
Now that we talked about all the different limitations that limit us or we think that limit us, it is time to make a war plan against or towards them.
First it is a good idea that you define your limitations, to ask yourself what those are, and what they are in the way of. If they stand in your way towards your goal or are in the way of your confidence and happiness, it will be necessary that you write this down first. Than write down, what limits you towards achieving it. Name your limitations one by on and write them down too. Leave enough space between them, so you can write a few more things below that.
Every limitation will be analysed like this:
- LIMITATION: what is it, name it
- It stands in the way of … in a way of what does it stand
- It is preventing me to … how does it stand in a way, what is preventing me to do
- 3-5 ways how can I to overcome or bypass this limitation: think outside the box, write down even those solutions that might seem impossible
- He / she can help me with my limitations: is there someone who can help me to overcome or bypass my limitation; who is it and how can he / she help?
- Yes, it is real / No, to be honest, it’s more like an excuse: is it real or just a convenient excuse, so I don’t have to do something or I am scared to go through with it
- Action time! act on some of the ways to overcome your limitations you wrote earlier or just let it go (in this case you do not get to feel sorry for yourself)
Conclusion
You really can’t go through with it or you just refuse to find the alternative path to your goal? Have you ever heard “Where there is a will, there is a path”? Try the tricks written above the next time you hit the roadblock. Do you best to bypass it. It is you life and only you can live it to its fullest!
