Are You Holding Yourself Back?

The above picture really made me laugh and I thought how many times in our lives we let something hold us back that actually can't. Yet, this is exactly the kind of thing that holds many of us back. We have the power take action yet we don't. We don't because we believe more in the obstacles, than in our own power.

There is always something we can do to produce a positive result. As soon as we stop believing that we become a victim. Victims do not accept their circumstances and decide what they can do to overcome them.

Instead they blame others for their problems. It's someone's else fault. Or they may blame themselves but again instead of doing anything about it they resign themselves to the fact that this is the way it is, and nothing they do will change it so they don't take action.

They don't take any action because they believe there isn't anything they can do to make a difference. I have found that blame never get me any progress. How about you? If it has, please email me and let me know how that works.

When I was younger being a skinny kid I thought it wasn't possible for me add muscle. I tried and tried working out with weights, drinking protein shakes, but it was to no avail, it wasn't working. I was still a skinny kid. As years went by I still thought I couldn't do anything to change my physique. That was until I saw a physique transformation challenge. I decided to enter the contest thinking I had nothing to lose except some time working out. I did the workouts and drank the shakes. I started to see some progress. Then 12 weeks later I had added 11 lbs of muscle. Sure, I would have preferred it be 20 lbs of muscle, but more importantly it shattered the belief that I couldn't do anything about my body. It also had me ask myself, where else were my beliefs holding me back?

Do you know the beliefs that hold you back? You know, those beliefs that keep you stuck in that job you hate, the relationship that isn't working, or those habits that keep you from growing, learning and improving. 

So if you want go from victim to high performer here is the four step process: 

• Assessment  - Face the cold hard facts.  Assessment where you are right now. This is your starting point on your path to high performance. For example, I was a skinny kid. That was just a fact at that moment.

• Acceptance - Accept that this is your circumstance. Yes it sucks, I know. But you are where you are and you won't improve until you accept your situation. Accept it, without being bitter, without blaming others or even yourself. For example, I had to accept my physique. I also accepted the fact that I was going to have to work much harder than my friends to get the same results.

• Ownership - You need to accept the responsibility for changing it.  You are the only one that can change it. No one else is responsible for improving your life. For example, I realized I had to be much more consistent about doing the workouts and managing my nutrition. I owned the fact that no one was going get results for me.

• Action - You have to do something, even it is just thinking differently. Action doesn't have to be a monumental thing. If you can take big actions, great. If that sounds too hard, then what is the smallest action you can take to get you one step closer to a result? For example, I started working out consistently. I worked harder than I ever imagined I needed to. And you know the rest of the story.

What area of your life have you been thinking that you cannot improve no matter what you do?

Take some time to think about each area of your life and if you are not taking enough action. Ask yourself why you are not taking that action. Is it because you don't believe it will make a difference?  If so, go through the four steps above.