One of my all-time favorite quotes is, “It’s not who you are that holds you back… it’s who you think you’re not”- Denis Waitley. I can’t remember where I first heard it, but it has been my life mantra ever since. Why? Because it so eloquently sums up everything we need to know to be successful.
-
We are inherently great.
We were all uniquely made, with a variety of gifts and talents. No two people are alike. That means you, yes, YOU, have something to offer the world that nobody else can give. You have all the raw materials you need to become something great. But, greatness takes time and effort, and unless you are consistently working on becoming the highest expression of yourself, that greatness may never be achieved. So what stops us from working on that greatness? Many times, we allow our own thoughts to hinder our progress.
-
We sometimes limit our own greatness because of negative thinking
We love to remind ourselves of our own shortcomings. That we’ve already tried changing careers before and never got called in for an interview. That we put ourselves out there on the dating scene and got hurt the last time. That we’ve been gaining and losing the same 20 pounds for years, so what would make this time any different? That we’re not pretty enough, strong enough, confident enough, wealthy enough, and the list goes on. None of these thoughts aid us in moving forward. All they do is pull us back into our comfort zone, where we don’t have to do anything different to remain right where we are. But you have to remember this important thing…
-
Our negative thoughts ARE NOT facts about ourselves. They are fallacies and fears that we mistake as truths.
These ideas you hold about yourself are not necessarily true. Some of these thoughts are ideas you have held onto for YEARS and have allowed them to stunt your own growth. We tend to hold on to the negative statements and feelings from our past and allow those moments to define who we think we are. Have you ever tried to give someone a genuine compliment and they brushed you off? Maybe you told someone that they look beautiful today and they retorted about how their hair was still a mess? Or you praised a co-worker after her presentation and she exclaimed how horrible she is at public speaking? Ever complimented someone on their weight loss journey and they pinched their stomach and told you how much work they think still needs to be done? We allow our own fears and insecurities to cloud our self-image. What would happen if we were to release these negative narratives we tell ourselves and accept them as false?
-
Who we are is constantly changing.
They are false because we are constantly changing. A pet peeve of mine is hearing people describe themselves as something negative. One of the top descriptions I hear is people calling themselves lazy. “I am lazy,” they state, as if it were fact. Why would you own that? You are not lazy because laziness is a choice. At any moment, you can choose not to be lazy. Sometimes, you have to realize that who you are is something that is decided by you, over and over again. You choose your decisions and actions, which create the sum of who you are. The beauty about this is that you can decide to be something else. But, you have to make that decision constantly, and take the steps consistently to make that change more permanent. And again, this will require stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things you may not be so great at, at first. But little by little, a little becomes a lot. Over time, these small efforts yield big changes. All that is initially required is the decision to change.
-
If we believe, we can achieve.
I know, I know… it’s a little cliché, but it’s TRUE! Whatever you believe you can do is completely possible. The only thing that can stop you is you and those ridiculous thoughts. Even the one right now telling you that you can’t achieve whatever big dream you have for your life. DO IT! Who are you NOT to be great? Why NOT you? It is not who you are that holds you back, because you have everything you need. But if you think you can’t do it, I can promise you that you most likely won’t, because your mind controls your actions. Am I saying it will be easy? Nope. Am I saying you won’t have failures? You most likely will. All of that is part of the process. But the belief that you CAN do it is the fuel that will keep you pushing forward long after most others would have given up.
So I ask you, who do you think you are? Rather, who do you think you’re not? What negative thoughts and limitations are you placing on yourself? What do you keep telling yourself you can’t do? Stop holding yourself back. YOU decide who YOU are and what you are capable of. And you can do it!
Written By:
Joy Diggs, MS, CPT, RD, LD, WLS
Certified Personal Trainer
Registered and Licensed Dietitian
Certified Weight Loss Specialist
Owner, Digg Deep Fitness
0 Comments