3 Things That Limit Your Potential and How to Overcome Them

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~George Sheehan

Here’s the routine: wake up, do my work, watch TV, and go to bed.

This was a regular day in my life not long ago. It was not too eventful and not overly challenging, and to be the honest, the less challenging it was, the less stress there was for me—at least that’s what I thought.

I had been working online for a few years, and my income was not up to where I wanted it to be. In fact, it was pretty far away from the numbers I had floating around in my head! But still, I went through the same motions everyday, hoping that one day I’d reach those numbers through hard work and perseverance.

I am a big believer in taking action to create the life you want, and at that point I thought I was taking action.

I would work hard during my day writing articles, perfecting my website’s SEO, and posting in forums. I did this daily because my schedule on the wall told me to do this to be successful. It even told me what time to stop doing one thing and start doing another.

Occasionally, I would read articles from other online marketers and bloggers about link building and networking. Even my husband, who is involved in real estate, would talk about that relationships he was building and how it helped him with his business.

But I kept brushing those ideas off because they were outside of my comfort zone.

I didn’t want to talk to people and build relationships. I’ve never been a social person, and it’s not inside my comfort zone.

Then I started reading Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles. I learned that if I was ever going to see a change in my business and life, I had to push outside my comfort zone. I had to take the risks that scared me and face my fears head on in order to realize what I was capable of and what I could accomplish.

I now realize that I was stressed about not succeeding, in large part because I was unwilling to get uncomfortable. I now know that the payoff of stepping out of your comfort zone is well worth the initial nervousness that yells, “Get out of here and go back to what feels familiar and safe!”

Now I try to do one thing every day that is outside of my comfort zone. I find that every time I do something that I would normally have passed over before, I become stronger and more confident. With each accomplishment I realize my abilities and potential.

Want to open yourself up to new possibilities and success? Then move out of your comfort zone! Here are a few things that may be holding you back from doing for something you want, as well as some reasons and ways to move beyond them.

1. Rejection

Rejection can lead you to feel like you’re not good enough, since it often leads to criticism, from yourself or someone else. Use this criticism to learn how you can improve in order to succeed. Once you know what you have to develop, you can work on those areas and try again. If you keep learning and growing, you will succeed.

For instance, if you submit an article and receive a rejection email because your writing skills are not up to par, you could easily feel like an incompetent writer, give up, and never submit another article again.

Or you can take the criticism, learn from it, and come back with something far stronger. There’s literally nowhere to go but up. Learn all you can about writing professionally (or whatever it is you do). With some practice and persistence, you will eventually get your article published.

A little rejection is inevitable, but if you’re willing to keep trying, you will see both progress and results.

2. Fear

Fear holds so many people back in life. Fear of the outcome, fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough, and fear of failing—we go through them all. You can pile fear on top of fear until eventually you find it easier to just forget the whole idea and do something that makes you comfortable.

Fear stems from our beliefs about ourselves, which come from our experiences and feedback from family and friends. If you have had a negative experience with something, then you may fear experiencing that negative feeling again. If you have been told that you can’t do something, then you might be fearful that you really can’t do it.

You need to remove these limiting beliefs and push past the fear. You can do this by using positive affirmations about yourself and consistently using positive self-talk to boost up your confidence level. It also helps to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your abilities and push you forward to face your fears.

3. Inability

Sometimes we know that we can’t do something, and sometimes we have tried to do something before and failed. For instance, if you have never tried swimming before, then taking on the challenge of swimming across a lake may seem unrealistic. On the other hand, if you have tried to swim across the lake before and failed, then you may hold the belief that you just can’t do it.

Fortunately for us, inability is something that everyone can push past. With enough effort, you can learn almost anything you set your mind to. You just have to find the information or help and start learning and practicing.

For example, you can take swimming lessons, even if you need to start with an absolute beginner class. Eventually, you will move on to more advanced swimming lessons, and soon you will be swimming on your own. Then you can practice swimming long distance until you feel confident you can make it across that lake.

You just have to start small and keep going.

Don’t let your comfort zone hold you back from taking risks, reaching your potential, and experiencing success. The more you push through your comfort zone, the larger it will become. Soon it will come much more naturally and easily to do things that move you toward your dreams!

Photo by Nicholas T