A to Z Challenge the letter L = Limitations

“Another reason we don’t see opportunities is that we limit ourselves by the way we think. We must be willing to think outside our limitations.” Dr. Robert Anthony, “Beyond Positive Thinking”

Once again, I am turning to my favorite book on positive thinking for today’s letter.  We each have goals we would like to reach and sometimes life can throw unexpected changes our way and block progress on achieving those goals.  This can result in frustration and maybe even giving up on ever seeing that goal realized. When frustration occurs so does opportunity! If this goal is something you absolutely believe in, there will be a way to achieve it. We often spend more time thinking about the things standing in the way.  This time could be better spent thinking about ways to make them happen.

In my life, finding the solution has proved more challenging and more worthwhile than sinking into the “why is this happening (or not) to me?” mindset.  Often the solution may require work or sacrifice on our part to achieve that goal. The learning process can also prove beneficial in the long run and the victory is so much sweeter and dearer when you actually have to work toward the goal.

This intriguing website has a list of 9 steps to help break through limitations. 

A –Z Challenge: BELIEVE

I think this is truly my favorite word. I love the definition from Dictionary.Com “to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or thereliability of something, although without absolute proof thatone is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.”

I would also like to recommend a great book that deals with Positive Thinking. “Beyond Positive Thinking: A No-Nonsense Formula for Gettingthe Results You Want” By Robert Anthony.  I was gifted the audio version and listen to it quite a lot on my commute to and from work. The audio book is almost like having your own cheerleader in the car with you! I knew I had to purchase the Kindle version to be able to reinforce what I was hearing. (I hope I am not violating any copyright laws here, but I really do want to recommend this book for anyone wanting to boost their self-confidence.)

Chapter 3 “ What Are You Telling Yourself”, was really informative for me. Two points that I remember well are how children from the same family and growing up with the same experiences can perceive those experiences differently and this quote “Other people can hand us opinions about ourselves.”  This chapter really goes into detail and discusses several important topics such as : Building a Self-Image, Increasing Performance, Attitudes, the importance of Self Talk.

Chapter 4 “Believing is Seeing” discusses concepts for helping you to see the person you want to be and Chapter 5 discusses “Write Your Own Script”.

As we grow into adulthood we are conditioned into believing things about ourselves that are simply not true. These are the perceptions of other people and if we are not careful, they can become how we perceive ourselves. I wish I had had this book in my twenties to explain some of the ingrained self-beliefs I grew up with.  As a child, being compared to siblings or cousins even if at times somewhat favorably can be detrimental. I have one sibling, a sister that is two years younger, and she was referred to as “the pretty one”.  I can laugh at that now, (therapy does wonders lol) but imagine the effect it had on me as a teenager. 

Today, I BELIEVE things like: I will finish my Work in Progress, I will not only skate my 25 laps but make it to 27. I BELIEVE I will make it through all 26 letters because, after all, there are way more than 26 wonderful things to discover and write about!