Words of wisdom for this week.
“Real life isn’t made up of great success and great failure, but of an infinite number of levels of living in between. And true greatness depends more on inner overcomings than on outer achievements.”
– Butterworth
It has been said by many people that “the only limitations we encounter in life are those self-limiting ones we place on ourselves.” If this is true (and at this point I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with this premise), why then do so few people reach their full potential? Why do so many people feel stuck, out of control and without hope in their lives? Why do so many people give up, quit, settle, resign themselves or operate out of blame, anger, guilt, fear, resentment and self-pity in regards to the quality of their life?
If this question were answered in a book by the same title, it would never sell. Why? Because the very people we are talking about here do not want to take the responsibility for their lives. They insist on pointing a finger toward something or someone else for the cause of their station or circumstances in life.
I have been at the bottom of the barrel a few times in my life. I have also reached the mountaintop. I have met thousands of people who believe they do not have any choices. They are stuck: in a job, business, relationship, way of life, neighborhood, climate or career. You and I are not trees. We can change what we do not like. Then why don’t we?
Fear, comfort, procrastination, wrong motives or reasons, other’s emotional manipulation of us and our acceptance of it.
The truth is – and I didn’t just invent it or discover it – each of us came into this world headed for greatness in some way. We were engineered for success at birth and conditioned for failure along the way. We have forgotten our heritage. We have the most magnificent organ ever created in our skull – a mind that can create whatever it chooses. There is nothing we cannot do. The skeptics out there are thinking, “Sure, Tim. I can fly.”
I do not have the time or the interest to deal with skeptics or critics. If that is their attitude, I will bet they take it into other areas of their life as well. This is not about you or me flying, but realizing we can do whatever we put our minds to, as long as we put action into our dreams. Certainly there are physical limitations in many areas or with some people. My only point here is that we could do more if we would only learn that our ceilings are self-imposed.
What inner mental images are you holding in your consciousness that may be holding you back? Is it the fear of failure or success? Is it the fear of rejection or public scorn? Is it an inner feeling of unworthiness? Or is it some other emotional issue or scar that you have failed to recognize or deal with?