I’ve known friends who talk for months and even years about
doing projects on their homes. They cut out pictures, pin color schemes and
ideas on Pinterest, talk about it incessantly, and dream about it constantly.
Days pass. They turn to weeks. Weeks become months and the next thing you know,
another year has passed without that bathroom being redone, the kitchen being
updated, the fire pit being built out in the yard…Who am I kidding? WE’VE done
it.
Small projects somehow become insurmountable, even in
their simplicity, and they don’t get done. In our house, that can end up in
some pretty hefty frustration when projects aren’t completed, let alone
started. Does that happen in your house or are we the only ones?
There always seems to be a valid reason why we don’t start
particular projects – or at least we rationalize that the reasons are valid.
There are so many things vying for our time and attention and bigger projects,
like house renovations, REALLY disrupt life. That alone can be frightening. Do
we really want to start on a project that will likely experience delays and end
up costing more than we expected? Will I succeed in what I’m doing????
Ohhhh….that last question hit home – the paralyzing fear of
failure…in ANY area of life…
Those questions ignite arguments in our minds. Those
arguments? They lead to limiting beliefs. What are limiting beliefs? Type it
into Google. You’ll get all kinds of answers including:
"Just by believing them, we do not think, do or say the things that they inhibit. And in doing so, we impoverish our lives. We may have beliefs about rights, duties, abilities, permissions and so on. Limiting beliefs are often about ourselves and our self-identity." *
Limiting beliefs are based on excuses, flawed logic, past
experience, fears and more. They convince us that we’re less than who we are
and so are our capabilities. Limiting beliefs paralyze us from getting started.
Nowhere is this more true than when those limiting beliefs originate from fear –
especially fear of failure.
What if I try to lose weight and I “can’t?” What if I do
this house project and I hate what I choose? Can I trust myself to make the “right”
decisions? What if I make a mistake? What if people see my failures? What will
they think? What if they don’t like something as much as I do? Do I REALLY want
to do this project or commit to reaching a particular goal if it may take
longer than expected and cost more (of me) than I was willing to invest? Am I
willing to risk failure???
What if there were no arguments? No questions? No limiting
beliefs stopping you? What if you didn’t care what people thought and didn’t
need their approval? What would you do? What would you start? What renovations
would you begin in your life? What would you get back to doing that you'd set aside?
It takes courage to start, but you’ll never get anywhere
without taking the first step.
It may already be the middle of the first month of the year,
but it’s not too late. It’s NEVER too late. Who says you need the New Year to
start something? My "just start" means getting back to blogging regularly. I'm done listening to the excuses and arguments and I'm starting again.
Silence the arguments – those from within and those from
without. Take a risk. JUST START. You’ll only get to where you want to be if
you begin.
Let's do it together. I'm taking that first step right alongside of you. What step are you taking? Post it in the comments so it becomes more real. That way, you're more likely to start. Here's to a great beginning!
* (http://changingminds.org/explanations/belief/limiting_beliefs.htm)
