Set Yourself Free...
By:Anthony Fernando
As children we set out confidently to explore the world we find around
us. We are inquisitive, curious and have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge
and experience.
However, as we grow a little older we begin to discover our personal
limitations…
We run as fast as we can at the school sports and still come last in the
race. From this experience we determine that we are ‘bad at sports’.
We attempt to draw our favorite cartoon character and our friends laugh
at the result. From this experience we decide that we ‘can’t draw’.
We try playing the piano and get yelled at by our piano teacher. This
experience leads us to believe that we ‘are not musical’.
With each negative experience, we create a personal limitation that we
file away in our minds and carry with us into adulthood.
As adults we often have a wide range of preconceptions and limiting
beliefs that prevent us from fully experiencing the world around us. The
problem with these beliefs is that we have carried them for so long that we
don’t even think of challenging them.
It’s a lot like the story of the baby elephant that has a rope tied
around his leg. Initially the little elephant tugs at the rope to try and break
free, but eventually he gives up and accepts that he cannot move beyond the
range of the rope.
Years later, when the elephant has grown into a two tonne adult that
could easily break the rope, he doesn’t even try because he still holds the
belief that he cannot break free.
Like the elephant, we often accept the limiting beliefs that we developed
as children without question. We carry these beliefs with us for so long that
we forget to challenge them in light of the new capabilities we have as adults.
For example, when Adam was young he didn’t learn how to swim. For many
years he simply accepted this limitation as part of who he was. The ‘I can’t
swim’ belief became ingrained in Adam’s mind to the point where he no longer
questioned it.
It wasn’t until he was 25 that Adam recognized his internal belief for
what it really was – a childhood limitation that was needlessly preventing him
from enjoying life as an adult.
Adam began swimming lessons at his local pool and within three months he
could swim competently. By the end of the year with some additional coaching,
he was swimming over a kilometre a day.
Today I’d like to encourage you to identify and challenge the limiting
beliefs that you may have developed in the past.
If there is something that you have always wanted to do, then make the
decision to break free of your limiting beliefs and get started.
There are whole new worlds of knowledge and experiences just waiting for
you to discover. All you need to do is break free of the rope of your limiting
belief and begin to take action.
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Sai Bless You..
